Demon's Shepard
by Kreidian
Summary: There was more fun to be had with Morinth. This is a different take on the character and what could have been. Slightly AU so the decision to pick her makes more sense. Rated M because this is Morinth after all. (p.s. and no, she won't be sexing FemShep)
1. Prologue

The Demon sat calmly on the balcony of the tiny Nos Astra tea shop. It wasn't a particularly good tea shop, she decided. Sure it had just about every tea imaginable, and not just all Asari varieties but nearly every alien tea variation imaginable. One would expect no less from this space port town. But in an attempt to remain competitive in this cut throat Illium shopping mall, the shopkeepers had opted to get the cheapest tea ingredients possible for every drink they offered. The tea was just criminally horrible. And she knew a thing or two about being criminal.

No, she did not come here for the quality of tea. The real reason she liked coming here every day was entirely due to the perfect view. Not the view of the iconic Nos Astra skyline, however. Whether by design or architectural luck, the balcony of this particular tea shop gave a perfect line of sight to the main entrance of the nearby space port. This made it a perfect observation post for seeing everyone coming and going into Illium's largest city.

The Demon knew it was only a matter of time before she got here. She had spent weeks setting up contacts within the Eclipse sisters to ensure she could be smuggled out at a moment's notice when that particular moment came. Truth be told she was planning to leave this system soon. Illium was starting to bore her.

It was too easy here. Too many easy victims, too easy to seduce them, too willing to give her what she wants. Even covering up her kills are easy enough, just throw a little red sand on the corpse and the cops won't even bother wasting their time with a deeper investigation.

Granted there had been a few enjoyable moments in her time here. Her last 'meal' was a pretty little thing, a young Eclipse merc, she probably wasn't even sixty yet, she had squealed with glee as she bragged about her first kill. It was quaint, even cute, if a bit insulting. The Demon taught her to respect her kills; using her as an example. That had forced all the other Eclipse mercs to show her more respect. Well fear if she was being honest, but among these mercs it amounted to about the same thing.

A tall figure suddenly caught her eye. Even from this distance there was no doubt that the person she had been waiting for had arrived. She walked with righteous purpose and indignation in every step. The form fitting outfit of ancient design might as well have broadcast her presence to every omni-tool on the planet.

The Justicar had arrived in search of the Demon.

Without a hint of neither hesitation or concern she walked away from her perch at the tea shop's balcony. She didn't even bother paying for her drink, not that such a distasteful liquid deserved compensation, but she wasn't planning to be here long enough to care. The Demon would leave Illium tonight. Leaving the Eclipse mercs to deal with the Justicar.

The Justicar named Samara.

Her Mother.


	2. The Justicar

Shepard was having a weird day. Very weird, and annoying. Almost from the second she set foot on this god-forsaken Asari cesspit of a city everything around her seemed to be hell bent on annoying her. Perhaps it said something about the Asari that their ugliest city would still be this pretty. But to Shepard the venere of beauty only served to magnify just how wretched the city truly was. She would have preferred to stay on Omega, at least everyone there was honest about what they were and what they wanted.

There had been a few nice moments. Like Liara, just hearing her name had Shepard's heart fluttering, thinking back at the time they had spent together. Of course actually meeting her changed all that. Liara had changed so much in two years. But for Shepard it had only been a couple of weeks at most. And in that time her shy awkward and ridiculously cute little Prothean expert was now threatening to flay people alive and slowly building up her own criminal empire.

Things had gone a little better when she ran into Parasini. Shepard even got the drink she owed her from back on Noveria. Though she ended up getting roped into helping her on yet another undercover investigation, again.

The bartender matriarch at the bar was actually pretty cool to talk to. Though the only reason Shepard even met her was because she had to deal with Conrad Verner first.

She was able to help out that unlucky Quarian at least, but only by securing her a contract of legalized slavery.

They did manage to find the Assassin they were looking for at least; and as a bonus she got to watch him kill that annoying Asari ambassador she'd run into a few years back. All told that mission actually turned out pretty well, and the Assassin turned out to be a surprisingly nice and thoughtful Drell that Shepard actually enjoyed talking to.

Of course it also turned out that he was dying of some incurable disease.

Shepard was starting to hate Illium.

Shepard was holding onto what little hope remained for this next mission to find the Asari Justicar.

The Justicar. Everything about this dossier just sounded weird to Shepard. It sounded like something that belonged in that Galaxy of Fantasy game Joker had been getting hooked on. But if what the detective said about Justicars and their lost causes was true then hopefully things would go reasonably smoothly.

It was a small hope mind you, but Shepard had to cling to it for now. Already they were making their way past an active crime scene through the Eclipse warehouses trying to find this Justicar.

Detective Anaya had been surprisingly helpful providing them with information on where to find their target. She even warned them about the Eclipse mercs they would inevitably run into. Granted the mercs had been no trouble at all. Shepard had plenty of experience taking out much more dangerous opponents, and that was before all of her upgrades.

It had dawned on Shepard that the Detective was probably trying to just get them all to leave her precinct before things got any worse, but she was beginning to appreciate what a tough spot she was being placed in.

The sound of glass breaking, followed by a woman's scream, immediately broke Shepard out of her thoughts just in time to see the body of some Asari mercenary slam hard against the wall next to her. The force of the impact was so strong that multiple bones could be heard snapping before her body slumped to the ground. Shepard did not need to check the Asari's body to know she was already dead.

Guns drawn the three of them moved forward carefully. Up ahead, above them, Shepard could hear two people in a desperate argument. Well one person in a desperate argument, the other voice remained smugly calm. The argument was cut short by another shattered window, and another Asari was sent flying in an envelope of biotic energy. She was lucky, or unlucky enough that she wasn't thrown against a wall; she simply landed on the floor, hard. It was enough to break her leg and an arm, possibly a couple of ribs as well. Shepard could see that from the way she crawled painfully on her back.

The flash of biotic energy brought the Commander's attention to the other Asari. Immediately Shepard knew this must be the Justicar. She was tall, graceful, confident. Though her face showed no emotion she moved with a righteous inner light almost as obvious as her biotic envelope. She glided down as though gravity itself was nothing more then an inconvenience. She managed to land only two steps away from her prey, before quickly putting a booted foot to the merc's throat.

"What was the name of the ship she left on?" The Justicar asked her. Her voice was calm, too calm. It was clear she honed it to be as unoffensive as possible. And yet that made her all the more menacing.

"Go to hell!" the wounded Eclipse sister spat out, knowing her fate. That earned her a notch of respect from Shepard, she never backed down in the face of certain death.

Shepard would learn much later that this was only because she had come face to face with something far worse then death.

There was a crack, a grunt, and the Asari merc was dead before Shepard could contemplate things further.

"Find peace in the embrace of the Goddess." The Justicar said. She was not doing it out of respect for the dead, Shepard realized. Something about the subtle movement of her body and the glare behind those emotionless eyes. It was clear to the Commander that the Justicar had nothing but contempt for the criminal.

Shepard nodded forward slightly, carefully walking up to the Asari. Garrus and Thane followed immediately behind her. The Justicar looked up at them considering their intrusion for a moment before speaking up.

"My name is Samara, a servant of the Justicar Code." she spoke with a voice unchanging as she walked purposefully towards the trio, "My quarrel is with these Eclipse sisters, but I see three well-armed people before me." There was only a pause, showing no concern at all for the situation as she added, "Step aside or I will be forced to kill you."

"Just like you did with those Eclipse mercs." Shepard said pointing her gun down, but keeping her gaze focused on Samara's own. She wasn't about to be bullied by her no matter how impressive her powers might be. "But I guess you would kill anyone who isn't of any use for you."

"If the code demands it, yes." Sarama confirmed. Though she was not even glowing yet, Shepard knew the Justicar was getting ready to attack if it came to that.

"Well you can relax. There's no need for anyone to kill anything yet." Shepard told her.

"Then why are you still before me?" Samara's voice never wavered even slightly, her face remained as solid as a block of ice, but Shepard knew a demand when she heard one. Still she wasn't about to take the bait.

"I need you to help me take down the Collectors." Shepard said. That got Samara's attention.

"The Collectors?" Her face remained completely unchanged except for the very subtle twitch to her left eye, "I suppose they would be worthy foes I could test my skills against. They have dealt with many criminals and the Code allows for their destruction. However I must decline, for I seek an incredibly dangerous fugitive."

"More dangerous then the Collectors?" Shepard shot back.

"More important at the moment." Samara replied.

"The Collectors are abducting entire colonies! How is that not more important?" Shepard insisted.

"Human colonies." Samara explained, "Outside of Asari space and therefore beyond my concern." She walked over to the dead Eclipse body as she continued, "The villain I seek was here moments ago, but the Eclipse sisters smuggled her off-world. I must find the name of the ship she left on before the trail grows cold. I'm sorry but I cannot help you."

Shepard doubted very much that she was sorry at all.

"I wish you were willing to go with the Human, Justicar." A new voice called out, Shepard turned to see Detective Anaya. Shepard wondered why she would follow behind them until she explained her presence. "I've been ordered to take you into custody if you won't leave."

"You risk a great deal by following your orders." Samara said walking up to the detective. Shepard was no biotic but she was certain she could feel an aura of indignation around the Justicar. "You know full well what will happen if you try to restrain me."

"And that's precisely why we can't have you running around everywhere like this." Anaya said in turn. She was doing a good job of holding her own against the Justicar's intense glare but it was clear to Shepard the Detective feared for her life. "You have a way out, I don't want to have to arrest you."

"You would not be able to stop me." Samara said.

"Uh, the human is lost here. Can one of you clarify?" While it was true Shepard wasn't sure exactly what was going she was sure that it was probably a good idea to interrupt that conversation before someone ( mostly likely Anaya ) ended up as a smear on the wall.

"I was trying to convince her to leave with you." Detective Anaya offered, "But Justicars and their Code..."

"The detective has been ordered to detain me." Samara said, it almost sounded like the closest she ever got to a sneer, "I cannot force her to disobey an order. I can only remind her that any attempt to restrain a Justicar is considered a hostile action. And the Code is very clear in that regard."

"Let me guess, you get to kill her." Garrus spoke up.

"I'm afraid so." Samara confirmed without a hint of remorse. She was clearly missing - or ignoring - the sarcasm in the Turian's voice. "Along with anyone who tries to stop me." That last bit was likely targeted at Shepard herself, she chose to ignore it too.

"Hey, here's an idea, before we all go around killing each other, how about a compromise?" Shepard suggested mirthfully.

"The Code does not allow for compromise." Samara insisted.

"Just hear me out." Shepard continued, putting a hand up in a motion that said 'calm the fuck down already'. "The powers that be don't want you running around killing everything between you and the name of the ship you're after. But I'm a Spectre, and I can get that name for you. Probably with a smaller body count."

"'Probably' being the key word here." Garrus could help but add in.

"The point is, I can get the name of the ship for you." Shepard continued with only a stern but friendly glace in Garrus's direction. "If you don't mind waiting with the detective here that is."

"And why should I trust you?" Samara asked. This time Shepard wasn't sure if the question was sincere or an insult thrown her way.

"Well think of it this way. If you try to break out you might have to kill quite a large number of cops who are just trying to do their job. I'm guessing your Code might have something to say about killing innocent civilians." The twitch in the Justicars eye confirmed to Shepard that she was on the right track, "Not to mention you'll have every law enforcement as well as every mercenary on Illium trying to take you down. Hell by that point I might have to stop you myself just to ensure peace in Council space." Spectre status has its advantages.

"Are you threatening me?" Samara, ironically, looked ready to kill her.

"Not at all," Shepard said her hands up innocently, though she could not restrain the smirk on her lips, "You might be able to kill everyone. Who knows? But there is a slim chance someone might be able to kill you. Even if they don't they'll slow you down long enough for your fugitive to get away for good. Either way you risk losing the trail. Or you can take a chance on me." She crossed her arms then, knowing she had this, "The choice is yours of course. Far be it for me to make the decision for you."

"Think of it this way. A small chance is better then no chance at all." Thane spoke up.

"Very well." Samara said after a long tense silence, "The Code allows me to cooperate with the detective for exactly one day. After that I must continue the hunt."

"At which point you'll break out and kill everyone in your way." Garrus added.

"Precisely." Samara said, once again missing the sarcasm.

"Great, one day, no problem." Shepard said, "Now that that's settled, lets see if we can manage to get back to the precinct without any of us killing each other."

Shepard decided, as they made their way back to the police station, that she definitely hated Illium.


	3. The Oath

"You found it?" Samara seemed surprised by Shepard's success. Shepard for her part tried her best not to smirk like an idiot at the smug Asari. She wasn't doing a very good job of it. "I am impressed." The Justicar added begrudgingly.

As it turned out finding the ship name proved to be surprisingly easy. Rather then waste time talking to every single Eclipse sister they ran into, Shepard decided go straight to the mercenery leader for the information. Garrus called it her "Infiltrator sensibilities"; when faced with a problem shoot it in the head. Not that he was complaining, being a sniper himself as well.

Granted that still required shooting their way through most of the Eclipse mercs in their hideout. And it's true, between her and Garrus most of them were left without a face as a result. With Thane as their back up the majority of them never even realized they were under attack before they died. Their leader put up a good fight, but in the end her head popped just like the rest of her sisters.

"Oh ye of little faith." Shepard smiled at the Justicar as she waved the datapad in her hand that contained the information they had found on the AML Demeter. "I also found an interesting tidbit about your little fugitive I wanted to ask you about." She leaned forward slightly before asking, "Just what is this Ardat-Yakshi you're after?"

The way the Justicar's eyes widened in shock alone was almost worth it.

"Once again you manage to impress me." Samara once again forced herself to admit.

As curious as Shepard was about whatever this Ardat-Yakshi, her real motive for showing what she knew was to prove to the Justicar that her intel was good. Now she knew she had something to bargin with.

"An Ardat-Yakshi?!" Detective Anaya's outburst was almost comedic but equally surprising in its suddenness. "Why didn't you tell me you were after something so dangerous!"

"I am under no obligation to tell you anything when it comes to my sacred duty, detective." Samara said calmly. Shepard was sure there was a hint of annoyance and dismissiveness in her words; she was getting better at reading the cold face of the Justicar.

"Yeah? And if you had told me about this earlier I could have taken it to my superiors." Anaya insisted, "They would have been much more likely to leave you alone. Scratch that they would probably be willing to do anything to capture her. We could have been on alert, watch out for bodies of her victims."

"Telling you anything about my target would have only alerted her to my presence." Samara explained, "She would have disappeared leaving no trail for me to follow."

"And how many people died at her hands because you refused to warn us?" The Detective accused her.

"Likely a fair number of people." Samara said bluntly, "But their deaths are insignificant compared to all the people she will kill if she is allowed to go free. Her capture and execution are all that matters."

"You don't even care about the people she's killed do you?" Anaya shot back.

"Nor should I." Sarama replied coldly, "My duty is to capture this criminal, not coddle the populous."

"Why you-" Anaya began.

"Not that this isn't fascinating or anything." Shepard interrupted forcefully, mostly for the Detective's sake. Though there was no obvious sign, Shepard was certain that Samara was close to killing Anaya simply for questioning her methods. "We still have a suicide mission we're recruiting for, and I need the best. Right now that means you, Samara."

"As I continue to explain to all of you." Samara was probably irritated now, "My only priority at the moment is chasing down this fugitive. I cannot help you."

"I still have the only clue for you to follow in my hand." Shepard said cooly, "I think it's a fair trade for your services."

"You dare to extort my services in this way?" Samara threatened.

"No, this isn't extortion, I'm offering to help you." Shepard explained, she waited to see the oh so subtle wave of confusion flow across Samara's face before continuing, "I'll give you the intel you need to continue your mission. I'll even help you take this Ardat-Yakshi down once you manage to track her down." Shepard emphasized the words to enforce the fact that she had what the Justicar wanted. "But in return I need you on my team when we hit the Collectors. That's the deal."

Samara glared into Shepard's eyes and the Commander knew that the Justicar was considering if it would be easier just to kill her and take the information. Shepard stared right back at her, unflinching, making it clear she wasn't going to backdown and that she was pretty confident she could kill her if it came to that. Fortunately Garrus picked up on the battle of wills and took a determined step forward to back up his Commander. Thane followed suit shortly after presenting Samara with a unified front. It was clear she had little choice in the matter.

"Very well I will accept your terms." Samara said finally.

Shepard was about to give her the datapad when a thought crossed her mind, "Not so fast there." She added, "How do I know that you won't try to kill me if I happen to do anything that doesn't agree with your code."

"Don't be foolish." Samara said with a subtle smile that was a bit unnerving, "If you did anything that violates the Justicar Code you can be certain I would kill you."

"Let me guess," Garrus spoke up, "This is the part where we're supposed to be shocked and scared at the big bad Asari who's threatening to kill us. Again."

"I'm sure you realize, given what we're up against, this might pose a problem." Shepard added.

"The problem is yours in this matter, I simply follow the Code as I've sworn to do." Samara said simply.

"I can respect that," Shepard continued, "But I need assurances that you won't try to kill all of us just because Garrus accidentally walked into the women's bathroom again."

"I'm never going to live that down." Garrus sighed, "It's your own damn fault for using Human gender symbols on your bathroom doors."

"A Justicar does not simply ignore her duty to the Code when it is convenient." Samara insisted crossing her arms, "If you cannot control yourselves that is hardly my concern."

"You could swear an Oath of Submission." Detective Anaya offered suddenly. "That way you won't have to kill them and you can still follow your Code."

"I'm sorry, what Oath?" Shepard asked, she didn't miss how Samara cast a fiery glare at the Detective, as if she had just blurted out her most embarrassing secret.

"The Oath of Submission," Anaya seemed happy to explain, "It's from the stories about Justicars. When they needed help from powerful matriarchs in the old days they could swear their service to the matriarch. That way the Justicar was never forced to choose between following the matriarch's decisions and upholding the Code."

'This must be revenge for not telling her about the Ardat-Yakshi', Shepard thought to herself thoroughly amused.

"What the Detective fails to mention is if the matriarch does anything that goes against the Code that Justicar would be required to kill her once her service comes to an end." Samara added with some insistance.

"So this Oath does exist then?" Shepard asked her.

"Yes." Samara admitted after a noticeable silence.

"And if you take this Oath with me I won't have to worry about you killing me until after we take out the Collectors?" Shepard clarified.

"That is correct." Sarama said, eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Sounds perfect then." Shepard said with an overly satisfied gleam in her eye. The implications were clear now, Shepard was simply being polite by not explicitly stating them.

"So be it." Samara said. She took a step forward in front of Shepard. Her eyes glowing white with intense biotic energy for a moment before she closed them and knelt in front of the Commander with her head bowed. Anaya stepped forward as well, apparently excited to witness this Oath.

"By the Code, I will serve you, Shepard." Samara swore, "Your choices are my choices, your morals are my morals. Your wishes are my code."

And instant later the Justicar's entire body was lit up with a biotic fire. It seemed to burn for only a moment before it settled down. The aura of her powerful biotics was still glowing by the time Samara stood up facing the Commander once again. Eventually even the intense glow of her eyes faded away as she stood there staring at Shepard.

"I never thought I'd see a Justicar swear an Oath like that." Detective Anaya broke the awkward silence first, she was both happy with herself and in awe of witnessing this ancient Asari myth come to life.

"Uh, ... thanks. I guess." Shepard said.

"I must remind you, should you force me to do anything dishonorable I will be forced to kill you once I am free of my Oath." Samara told her.

"Of course you will, how could we forget." Garrus offered with his usual sarcasm.

"Why don't you head back to the Normandy to get settled in while I wrap things up with the detective here?" Shepard suggested. "Thane could you show her the way?"

"Of course, I'll be glad to." Thane nodded, he turned towards Samara and motioned for her to follow, "If you don't mind, this way please." Soon Thane disappeared into a nearby taxi with Samara following close behind.

"You sure picked a winner there Shepard." Garrus laughed, "When you mentioned this was a suicide mission I figured you were talking about the actual assault. I didn't realize you meant that it would be nearly impossible for all of us to make it to the Collectors before everyone kills each other."

"Laugh it up Garrus, but let's face it, we're probably going to need her." Shepard said back at her Turian friend, "Let's just try to keep out of her way as much as possible until then."

"If you say so." Garrus said, "Though sending the Drell to escort her back to the ship? If I didn't know better I'd say you were scared of her."

"Just being cautious." Shepard told him, "She's a little trigger happy with her powers and Thane's the only biotic between the three of us that has a shot of dealing with her if things go south. Also I'm sure he'd be better then either of us at keeping his mouth shut and not pissing her off. Worst case scenario, well ... he's going to die anyway, right?"

"Shepard, that's horrible!" Garrus pretended to be offended but couldn't resist laughing. He knew the Commander well enough to know that she only made bad jokes at people's expense if she really liked them.


	4. The Trust

She stepped off the transport onto the grimmy dock. For a moment she couldn't help but frown at the disgusting state of things on this Omega station. Only a moment, however, it quickly passed once she looked up and took in the Omega skyline.

It was perhaps silly to call this a skyline, seeing that it was just a self contained breathable environment surrounding utilitarian structures attached to a massive astroid that was being mined for eezo. But perhaps that was the beauty of this station. So unlike the Asari cities she had passed through, even more unlike other Council space stations, like the Citadel, which try so hard to pretend to be serene and peaceful and perfect.

Omega was none of that, it was dirty, practical, and dangerous. Everything on it looked ready to punish any weakness. There was an honesty about this place, this was what life was really like. Not the fantasy of a calm meadow in a safe little park under a warm sun somewhere. But the brutal reality that death was always just a moment away. This truth made life in Omega that much more vibrant. Everyone here knew with a certainty they could die at any moment, and that made them all that much more alive.

This would make the hunt that much more difficult, she realized. When everyone knew their life was in constant danger it made them more cautious, and harder to trap. This didn't bother her, however, on the contrary it only made her that much more eager for the challenges ahead.

"Well, aren't you a pretty little thing." a Batarian voice was being directed at her. Blinking she turned to see where the source of the voice came from and saw a Batarian staring back at her. He was possibly a mercenary, given his armor, but the way he allowed all four eyes to drag over her body showed he likely thought himself a predator.

"First time to Omega?" the Batarian asked her.

She realized her wide eyed admiration of the station around her probably made her look like an easy target. She smiled, making sure to keep her face as innocent and her voice as naive as possible. "Yes it is. How did you know?"

Rarely was the hunt as simple as seeking out and attacking your prey. Sometimes you had to allow your target to think it is hunting you, then let them come to you. All she had to do now was play the part of the lost little newcomer.

"I can tell. Omega is a dangerous place, you know. If you want I can help you get settled in, keep you safe." The Batarian was doing a terrible job of hiding the sadistic leer in his voice. But all she had to do was pretend she didn't know better, pretend the Batarian wasn't more interesting in doing terrible things to her.

"I'd like that, thank you." Her smile was pure, innocent, trusting, welcoming, exactly what the Batarian was expecting, exactly as she had crafted it.

The Batarian led her away from the docks. As they walked to what would likely be his apartment, she made sure to stand just a little too close to him. She didn't pull away even as he laid his hand a little too strongly on her hip. He was about to experience first hand what a true predator was like.

"So what's your name, sweet thing?" The Batarian asked her. She had to think about it for a moment, making sure the new name fit properly as it rolled off her tongue.

"Morinth," She said with an intentionally shy smile, "My name's Morinth, and it's so nice to meet you." She didn't bother asking for his name in return. It didn't matter, he'd be dead soon anyway.

* * *

Shepard had hoped to grab a simple meal, something nice and warm to take back up to her cabin. Particularly now that she had managed to pick up some decent ingredients for Gardner to work with.

They would be heading to Horizon soon, all they were waiting for were Mordin's armor upgrades now. And if what the Illusive Man had told her about Ashley was correct ...

The whole thing felt wrong. Not that it mattered, if they didn't do something the entire colony would be lost. And right now they were they only ones who could do anything about it.

The last thing she needed now was a big argument to break out in the middle of the mess hall.

"What did you say bitch!?" Shepard heard Jack's voice yelling clearly almost as soon as she stepped off the elevator. Immediately she sighed, briefly considered hitting the button to go back up to her cabin, and then decided that she'd better resolve the issue sooner rather then later.

As she walked into the mess area itself she could see Jack and Samara staring each other down, biotics already flaring in preparation for war. Shepard wasn't a biotic herself, so she found it annoying when skilled biotics resorted to showing off their abilities whenever they encountered something they disagreed with.

Samara remained her typical emotionless self; cold, calm, and precise. Jack on the other hand was the exact opposite. She was just a raging inferno of biotic energy, all of her emotion laid bear, ready to lash out at anything that presented itself with her full berserker fury.

Seriously, even Grunt was more disciplined and orderly then Jack, and he couldn't wait for any excuse to headbutt someone or something into dust.

"Your presence itself is an offense to the Code," Samara explained with an uncaring tone that was completely inappropriate for the situation. "And your current actions only further prove my assertions."

"Just try it you fat blue cunt." Jack shot back at her.

"Actually I think the appropriate term you're looking for is Azure." Kelly offered trying to diffuse the situation. It wasn't remotely helpful.

"What the hell is going on here!" Shepard called out, her voice booming with enough authority that everyone in the room had no choice but to look at their Commander. The response was immediate. Every former Alliance crew member immediately moved to salute, a reflex bred too deeply to resist against a voice with so much command. The rest of the Cerberus crew quickly found reasons to be elsewhere, as though the Commander, even unarmed, was more dangerous to their personal safety then an all out biotic warzone.

"This blue bitch is saying I should be put down like a dog!" Jack said accusingly, the glare in her eye made it obvious just how far she was willing to go in response.

"This wretched girl has confessed her crimes to me." Samara said, "They are numerous and significant enough to warrant immediate judgement." Her steely glance made it clear that she was all too willing to follow through on her threats.

"Confessed?" Jack laughed, "More like bragging. If you want to lay down your judgment on me I'll show you my brand of anarchy and we can see who comes out on top." And likely rip the bulkheads apart in the process, Shepard realized.

"That's enough!" Shepard demanded, the intensity in her voice enforced the silence that soon followed.

"Samara," Shepard began again in a calmer voice this time, "I'm sure you are correct that the Code would require action in case. Just like I'm sure that your Oath to me means you won't actually harm any of my crew, right?" She kept her eyes on the Justicar as if daring her to go back on her Oath.

"... You are correct, Shepard." Samara admitted finally. "Though failing to exact Justice on the guilty would bring dishonor to me." The hint was inferred just for Shepard, forcing her to act dishonorably meant death after all.

"Alright, and how do you know she's guilty?" Shepard asked her.

"What do you mean? She confessed her crimes to me." Samara worked to hide her frustration.

"I'm pretty sure I heard her specifically state it wasn't a confession." Shepard replied, "So how can you be sure that she's telling you the truth."

"Are you calling me a liar now?" Jack spoke up.

"I'm just saying," Shepard said leveling an intense glance at Jack before she had a chance to blow up and make things worse, "Hypothetically speaking, what if you were going a bit overboard in your stories. I'm not saying whether you were or weren't mind you." She looked back towards Samara as she continued, "However Jack hasn't sworn any oath to tell the truth all the time. At least not that I'm aware of. So you don't really know if what she's saying is true, not enough to validate and execution at least."

"I see," Samara said, "A convenient work around for you, Shepard."

"I just don't want to see any of my crew tearing each other apart." Shepard told her crossing her arms, "It's kinda hard to complete any mission when your ground team is too busy being dead. Trust me, I would know."

"Very well," Samara said with a slight nod, "In that case there is no more need of my presence here, and I shall return to my quarters." With that the Justicar simply turned and walked away, as though the current situation was no longer worthy of her attention.

"Huh, bitch didn't even apologize." Jack blurted out, not caring if Samara was out of earshot.

"You really shouldn't let her get to you like that." Shepard offered the biotic. "She doesn't like you, I'm sure that's not a new concept to you, just accept that and ignore her."

"I don't give a fuck if she doesn't like me." Jack told Shepard bluntly, "But anyone who threatens me is just asking to have their asses ripped out through their fucking throat."

"Fair enough." Shepard shrugged, "But in my experience verbal threats don't mean much. And I won't allow any actual threats to you so long as you're on my ship."

For a very brief moment Jack found herself at a loss for words due to the sincerity of Shepard's words, but she quickly recovered and added, "If you say so, but if you don't mind I'd rather not get too comfortable." She turned to walk away but suddenly stopped when Shepard put a hand on her arm to get her attention.

"Just for the record." Shepard told her, "I do trust you."

"Oh really?" Jack said, "What about the stuck up blue bitch? You trust her too?" She was surprised when Shepard shook her head no.

"I don't need to trust her." Shepard said, "Telling the truth is a point of honor for her. I'm sure she'd rather kill herself then tell a lie. It makes trusting her a meaningless gesture. After all, it not really trust if there's no risk involved."


	5. The Betrayal

It was weeks later when Shepard found herself storming towards the Observation room to confront Samara. She kept trying to remind herself that she wasn't mad at her, that she just wanted to understand.

It wasn't working.

Any other time she would have had more patience then this. She would have been able to control her anger a lot better. But Horizon was still fresh in her mind, and she still wasn't completely over the events that had transpired.

It wasn't seeing first hand what the Collectors were doing. She had expected to encounter something like that. It wasn't seeing the collectors up close and personal, seeing their deformed features, little better then husks themselves. It wasn't having to battle the grotesque monstrosity of the Collector's Preatorian. It wasn't even seeing the way the Collector leader took possession of individual troops, nor the realization days later that it was probably a Reaper controlling them all.

No, the reason Horizon became such a horrible enraging experience for Commander Shepard was due solely to her meeting with Ashley. What should have been a joyous reunion quickly turned incredibly sour. Her former crewmember was not at all sympathetic with her situation. Ash had refused to see that she had no choice but to work with Cerberus in order to save as many human colonies as possible.

But the worst part was when Ash called her a traitor.

Ironic that, considering what she had just learned about Samara. But then Shepard was never one who handled betrayal very well.

She opened the door to Samara's room with her command override, not bothering to knock.

"Your own daughter!" Shepard called out louder then she intended.

"Shepard. You are disrupting my meditations. I would appreciate it if you would leave until I am finished." Samara was seated in that perfect lotus position, glowing with all her biotic energy focused to a sphere in front of her as she stared out into space.

"My ship, my rules, I go where ever I want and talk to whoever I want." Shepard told her bluntly. "Why didn't you tell me this fugitive you were after was your own daughter?"

"The details of my mission are none of your concern." Samara replied.

"It is as long as you're part of this crew." Shepard insisted.

"If this bothers you, you can always release me of my Oath." Samara told her, allowing her biotic aura to dissipate as she looked up at the Commander. There was a clear undertone of a death threat in there, Shepard was certain. "How did you even discover this?"

"I happen to know an Asari Information Broker on Illium who owed me a favor." Shepard explained, "I wanted to know more about the fugitive we were after, and since you weren't being very forthcoming I decided to make use other sources." In truth given Samara's inflexible nature most of the crew tended to avoid her, Shepard included, rather then risk more of her death threats. But the few times Shepard had spoken with Samara she had been annoyingly tight lipped, not so subtlety hinting that no one on this ship was worth of speaking with her.

"And this Information Broker determined that this fugitive was my daughter?" If Samara was trying to imply that the notion was a silly one in order to throw Shepard off the trail she was doing a bad job of it.

"She's a very good Information Broker." Shepard said, mimicking Liara's words. "I also asked her about Ardat-Yakshi, she had a lot to say but it was all a bunch of horror stories, no hard facts. So I want the truth, everything, straight from you. Now."

It took a moment for the Justicar to consider Shepard's words. Likely she felt that due to her Oath she was honor bound to respond to the commander's request. Clearly, however, she didn't do so willingly. "The term 'Ardat-Yakshi' comes from a dead Asari dialect, it means "Demon of the Night Winds" Samara said as she stood up, eyes looking out into space, "But that is mythology. In reality she is simply an incredibly dangerous woman who kills without mercy."

"I could say the same about you." Shepard said crossing her arms as she leaned against the glass next to Samara.

"Don't ever compare us!" Samara said forcefully, it was probably the most emotion she had ever shown until this point. "I kill as the Code demands. She is a monster. She simply kills for pleasure."

"Alright," Shepard said without flinching, "So explain it to me."

"Ardat-Yakshi is a rare genetic disorder." Samara began, "When she mates with you, there is no gentle melding of nervous systems. She overpowers her targets' nerves, burns them out, hemorrhages their brain. Her victims end up as mindless shells, and soon after they are dead."

"You mean she mind-fucks you to death?" Shepard couldn't help herself saying out loud.

"As you so crudely put it, Yes." Samara's subtle frown was not lost on Shepard.

"So you hunt down these Asari just because they're born with a genetic condition?" Shepard asked clearly unconvinced.

"The condition manifests with maturity." Samara explained, "By the time it is diagnosed it is already too late to do anything about it. So the Ardat-Yakshi are offered the option to live life in seclusion where their existence will not endager anyone."

"You mean prison." Shepard said a bit harshly.

"It is a chance to live in comfort." Samara said in turn, "An opportunity at a life where every need is fulfilled. Guarded by those they cannot seduce so that they never have to worry about killing another creature."

"We humans have a term for that." Shepard said, "A 'Guilded Cage', it's another way of saying it's a pretty prison. But it's still a prison."

"It is the only way such a creature can be allowed to live." Samara shot back defensively, "Refusing this offer only proves her addiction to the ecstasy she gets from killing her mates. There is no redemption for such a person."

"Addiction?" Shepard responded, "You're telling me she can't, I don't know, just not to have sex with people?"

"Each time she kills through melding, an Ardat-Yakshi gains strength." Samara explained, "The effect is narcotic. The more she does it, the more she needs to do it. She will never stop, she can't."

"And so her only choices are life in prison or death." Shepard said, "I can't exactly blame her for running."

"When she fled, she proved her addiction." Samara repeated, "She was not taking a great moral stand - she simply wants to keep killing."

"And now you want to kill her as a result." Shepard said, "Your own daughter. Condemned simply for being born different."

"She is a monster Shepard." Samara told her.

"Because you made her that way." Shepard shot back, "This is a genetic disorder after all; she inherited this trait from you."

"And therefore it is my responsibility to correct that mistake." Samara replied.

"So you think your own daughter was a mistake?!" Shepard exclaimed.

"The mistake was hers." Samare said after a telling pause. "Of the three Ardat-Yakshi that I know of, two of them chose to accept their lives in solitude. Only she ran. She ran so I must kill her." She paced around a very small circle as she spoke, "I have given up all possessions, I own nothing, I claim nothing, and all my knowledge will die with me. My only goal in life is to kill this monster born out of my daughter."

_She blames her daughter,_ Shepard realized. She was about to express her thoughts to that effect when something else Samara said caught her attention. "Wait, so you know of three Ardat-Yakshi, and this is a genetic condition. How many daughters do you have?"

"Three." Samara admitted, "It is as it sounds."

"Oh." Shepard said, suddenly feeling the pangs of guilt at the realization. "I'm sorry."

"I do not want your pity Shepard. I do not accept it." Samara said. Though she remained her usual emotionless self, it was clear to Shepard that she was angry. "All I need from you is to fulfill your promise to help me find and kill her."

And there it was. Shepard could see it in the Justicar's eyes. Not only did she blame her daughter for what she had become, but even worse, she was ashamed. Ashamed of all of her daughters for being born Ardat-Yakshi. Even if she was at least in part responsible for how they were born, in the end Samara laid all the blame on her own daughters instead.

Once again Shepard felt the anger inside her rising. But this time she forced herself to calm down. Despite her personal feelings on the matter, she still needed Samara. And if killing her daughter was the only way to get the best out of the Justicar, ... well no one ever said saving the galaxy would be pretty.

"Your daughter is on Omega." Shepard said, producing a datapad she had brought with her containing the data she received from Liara. "She's going by the name Morinth. I assume that's not her real name." She didn't need to see Samara's response to know the truth.

"So you found her?" Samara said instead.

"I didn't feel like waiting around while you communed with the cosmos for her location." Shepard spat out, "Besides, I always keep my promises."

"We must go there now." Samara demanded. "Before she escapes once again."

"We'll go when the time comes." Shepard said, "Before that we're going to pick up a friend." Shepard was really looking forward to seeing Tali again. After all this she could really use another friend. No doubt Garrus would appreciate it too.

Samara had other ideas, "There is no time for pointless delays! It is your duty in service to a Justicar to see this mission through as quickly as possible."

"You do not get to dictate my obligations, Justicar." Shepard told her, her tone leaving no room for discussion, "This is my ship and we will go when I say it's time. We'll get her, you can count on it. Until then you can sit your blue ass down and meditate on that."

Shepard turned around and walked out of the room before Samara had a chance to argue the point.

* * *

_Meanwhile in Omega..._

Morinth found her strolling into her hunting territory. Instantly it was clear she didn't belong. The girl was shy, too shy for the VIP section of Afterlife. And as hard as she tried to look the part, she was clearly not high enough on the station's social ladder to justify her presence here. Just another lowly Omega rat in over her head. Normally Morinth would have ignored her, she was on the hunt after all and this human girl just wasn't her type.

Then the awkward little human girl started to dance.

It was terrible at first, of course, all gangly and self conscious. But it didn't take long for the girl to lose herself in her own little world. Probably something she did often, Morinth realized. At that moment something amazing happened. She let go and slowly began to pour out her very soul and emotion into her dance. Certainly not intentional, and yet all the more amazing because of it. This girl was filled with so much pain and passion. No one other then Morinth could even see it.

She would not let this one get away, Morinth decided as she stepped onto the dance floor. She flowed with the music in ways that only centuries of experience would allow, using it to mirror all the same pain and passion that this girl had shown her. From the awed expression on the little girl's face it was obvious that even she herself did not realize what she was doing. Eventually Morinth realized that she might scare away the shy human with her sheer pressence. So she motioned off the dance floor, inviting the girl to talk.

"My name is Morinth." She told her with a careful gentleness to her voice, "I love watching you dance."

"Oh ... oh my." the human girl stammered, clearly in shock, "Uh, thank you. I'm sorry, I'm not used to ... um all this."

Morinth smiled at her, an inviting smile meant to ease her worries, "You have nothing to be sorry about. Why don't you tell me your name?"

"Oh right, yes of course!" the human said extending a hand out in that quaint human gesture Morinth had learned about not so long ago, "It's nice to meet you, my name's Nef."


	6. The Investigation

"Omega Station." Miranda spoke up as they stepped out of the docks, "What a shit-hole, I always feel like I need a proper decontamination cycle after coming here, in addition to several showers."

"Oh? You really hate it that much?" Shepard teased her, "Suddenly this place isn't so bad anymore."

"This coming from the woman who was poisoned the first time she set foot here." Miranda shot back without missing a beat. "Just weeks after I painstakingly resurrected you I might add."

"Ah yes, we wouldn't want all your hard work to go to waste, would we?" Shepard replied. "Just imagine what the Illusive Man would say? Tsk Tsk!"

"If you don't mind Commander," Samara interrupted their banter, "I would prefer we focus on capturing this fugitive before she escapes once again."

"Relax Samara, what do you think we're doing here in the first place?" Shepard told her, "We're going to see what Aira knows about her right now."

"Aria? The Asari pirate that runs this station?" Samara asked in a clearly disapproving tone.

"Yes, that's the one." Shepard sighed, "She knows everything that's going on in this station. And she's an Asari, so I'm sure she has some idea of what to look for in this case."

"Unfortunate that we must deal with such criminals." Samara said, clearly disapproving.

"Aria's been pretty helpful so far." Shepard reminded her.

"I won't deny that." Samara continued, "Often I have been forced to deal with similar criminals in order to obtain information in pursuit of this fugitive. Though rarely do they survive the encounter. I would simply prefer a more respectable solution."

"This is Omega," Miranda mentioned, "There's no such thing as respectable here."

"The cheerleader has a point." Shepard said, intentionally borrowing Jack's nickname just to annoy the Cerberus Agent. "If Morinth was the respectable type she probably wouldn't have come here in the first place."

"I understand." Samara insisted, "But that doesn't make the situation any less intolerable. However. So long as my duty is fulfilled, that is all that matters."

"Well then," Shepard called out, "Let's get this over with."

* * *

"Ah Shepard, things always get more interesting whenever you appear." Aria said, the Pirate Queen of Omega smiled as she carefully watched the Spectre and her companions approach the couch she sat on. Her eyes settled on Samara before she added, "And here you are in the company of a Justicar. Did the Matriarchs finally decide I wasn't worth the embarrassment? Really, Shepard, I'm hurt."

"Relax Aria, she's not here for you." Shepard assured her.

"Is that right?" Aria was intrigued, "I'm surprised she hasn't tried to kill you and half your crew yet. As I recall you weren't exactly the 'by the code' type."

"I have sworn an Oath to the Commander." Samara told her, "By the Code I will serve her until our task is done."

"How amusing." Aria smiled, "Tell me Shepard, how'd you manage to put a leash around your very own Justicar?"

"I made a promise of my own." Shepard offered, "I'm helping Samara in exchange for her service. Part of the reason we came to you in fact."

Aria considered those words for a brief moment then nodded her head to the empty space on the couch besides her. Shepard quickly obliged, taking the seat offered.

"What do you need?" Aria asked her directly.

"We're after an Asari fugitive. She's an Ardat-Yakshi." Shepard watched Aria carefully as she spoke, it was clear the instant she said the name that Aira knew something. "We need to find her."

"I knew it." Aria confirmed Shepard's suspicions, "Nothing leaves a body quite so ... emtpy ... as an Ardat-Yakshi does."

"Just the one body?" Shepard asked her.

"Several actually." Aria said cooly, "But not enough to worry about. This is Omega, and you little demon's 'dalliances' would barely register on the radar. It was simply the nature of their deaths that made it worth my while to keep an eye on her victims, just in case she go out of hand."

"You haven't taken steps to kill her?" Samara demanded.

"Why would I?" Aria shot back smoothly, "She hasn't tried to seduce me."

"Anything you can tell us would be helpful." Shepard interjected before there was any chance of the two Asari getting into an argument.

"Her latest victim was a young girl." Aria informed Shepard, "Pretty thing. Lived in the tenements near here. That's where I'd start looking." She nodded to one of her nearby guards who quickly tapped a couple of keys on his omni-tool. Seconds later Shepard's own omni-tool chirpped, quickly she checked it and found she had received a new nav point that would lead her into some nearby apartments.

"Thanks for the help." Shepard stood up, giving a quick nod of appreciation to Aria.

"Good luck finding her," Aria told her as she watched her leave, "Better luck catching her"

Shepard quickly made her way out of the club intent on visiting the victim's apartment as soon as possible. To her surprise Samara stopped them almost as soon as they left the club.

"Shepard, if you don't mind, I have a request." Samara insisted.

"A request?" Miranda looked at her with a questioning glance. "I would have thought you would be eager to finish the job as quickly as possible."

"That I am," Samara replied. "But certain matters must be addressed beforehand."

"What is it?" Shepard asked her.

"I would prefer if we handled this with just the two of us." Samara explained, "No offense meant towards Ms. Lawson, but this is a deeply personal and important task. It is an obligation I want to burden as few people as possible with."

"If this fugitive is as dangerous as you say, we probably should bring backup." Shepard suggested.

"I am confident I am at the very least an even match with her." Samara insisted, "With you there, Shepard, I am certain we would have no problem subduing this criminal. Also I would have you there to fulfill your promise to me. Beyond that no one else should be needed. The choice is yours, I understand, but I would appreciate your concession on this matter."

Shepard resisted the urge to yell at the Justicar and explain, rather loudly, how and why she was being completely mistaken about the whole thing. But in the end this was Samara's personal mission. As much as Shepard didn't like it, she had to respect that.

"Fine, hope you don't mind, Miranda." Shepard said.

"Not at all." Miranda said, "I've already expressed my feelings on being here. I'm more worried about you. I can guarantee you'll manage to get yourself nearly killed somehow."

"And yet somehow I'll survive." Shepard joked back, "Worst case you can always have the Illusive man spend another couple billion credits resurrecting me."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, shall we?" Miranda said as she began walking back to towards the docks.

Shepard and Samara managed to find the apartment they were looking for quickly after that. The lonely mother mourning the loss of her daughter was evidence enough that they had found the right place. Shepard took the time to console the grieving woman, convincing her to tell them what she knew of her daughter's death. It didn't take long to confirm that Morinth had been behind Nef's death. Then soon after her mother broke down in tears.

Instinctually Shepard walked up, placing her arm gently around her.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Nef's mother said as soon as she could regain some composure. She couldn't stop her tears from falling, then she didn't bother trying anymore. "I just miss her so much."

"It's alright. Don't apologize. It's ok to cry." Shepard tried to be as empathic as she could manage. She didn't think she was doing a good job, she was never good at the sensitive stuff. But at least it seemed Nef's mother appreciated her efforts.

"I know what it means to lose a daughter." Samara spoke up. Even now there was no emotion in her voice, "I will avenge her."

The words ignited a rage inside of Shepard. Samara hadn't lost a daughter, she drove her away by threatening to imprison her. And now she was promising to avenge this death by actually killing her own daughter. It truly bothered Shepard to see Samara trying to relate her own struggles to what this woman was going through.

But Shepard fought down her anger. Nef's mother needed to grieve for her loss, and she needed a sympathetic ear. For her sake, Shepard simply let the matter drop.

"Do you mind if we look through Nef's things?" Shepard asked a moment later.

"Please, if it helps you find her killer." Nef's mother replied, "Do what ever you have to do, just find her."

"We will be respectful." Samara assured her. Though Shepard felt her tone left her somewhat unconvincing.

"Thank you." Shepard said simply. Better to focus on the mission and get the whole mess over with quickly.

Nodding weakly, Nef's mother moved over to her daughter's room, unlocking the door for them. She stepped aside, not bothering to open the door herself. Shepard realized she probably didn't feel strong enough yet to face so many memories of her daughter. Instead Shepard took the initiative, walking into the room first.

It was a typical tiny apartment, with just enough room to live in, containing the bare minimum needed to survive. It was clear this girl spent a great deal of time here by the sheer amount of stuff she managed to squeeze into every possible space in the apartment.

Suddenly something caught her eye. It stood out, alone on the desk. It was a sculpture of some kind. It dawned on Shepard that it was made from the same rock as the astroid that Omega station was built on. She couldn't believe that such a beautiful thing could be made from something so plain and ugly. The sculpture's lines were jagged and sharp and yet somehow still flowed smoothly together. The entire effect was - Shepard simply couldn't think of a better word - intense.

"Nef made that." Her mother spoke in a soft voice filled with equal parts pride and pain. Shepard looked back to see her hanging by the doorway, still refusing to go inside. She quickly added, "A man from some gallery offered me four years' salary for it. But I'd never part with it." Only then did Shepard realize she must have been staring at the sculpture intently for a long time.

"It's ... amazing." Truly Shepard was at a loss for words.

"This is typical of Morinth." Samara said, breaking Shepard out of her subtle trance, "She is attracted to artists. Someone with a creative spark. This girl was also somewhat isolated, the perfect target."

'Way to spoil the mood', Shepard found herself thinking. However she forced herself to focus once again on the mission. The more she learned about Morinth the easier it would be to take her down. It was, as Garrus would remind her, part of her Infiltrator sensibilities.

Shepard continues searching for anything useful. She wasn't entirely comfortable going through Nef's private journal, but if it meant catching a killer she wasn't about to let that stop her. Shepard skimmed through most of the entries, she really only listened to 3 of them all the way through, just enough to find what she was looking for.

"Well it sounds like the VIP club at Afterlife is going to be our best bet." Shepard said.

"Indeed, that seems to be her preferred hunting ground." Samara added. She still saw her daughter just as a monster.

Shepard nodded as she looked over Samara's shoulder. Nef's mother had left them, Shepard wasn't surprised she wouldn't want to listen to Nef's video journals. Shepard walked over to the room's door and cycled it close so they wouldn't be overheard.

"Alright, if there's anything else you can tell me about Morinth now would be the time." Shepard told Samara.

The Justicar nodded before she began to lecture about her target, "She impresses with sophistication and sex appeal then she strikes, the hunt interests her as much as the conquest. Morinth speaks to you on many levels. Her body tells yours that she'll bring unimaginable ecstasy. Her scent evokes emotions long hidden. Her eyes promise you things you were always scared to ask another. Her voice whispers to you after she is done speaking."

Shepard stood there, unimpressed, as Samara went through the practiced speech. Perhaps the Justicar was trying to convey just how dangerous Morinth was. Or perhaps Samara was trying to seduce her, Shepard considered briefly. Either way the description just came off as ridiculous as far as Shepard was concerned, and thus failed on both accounts.

"Well if you put it that way," Shepard spoke with dripping sarcasm, "Then I can't WAIT to meet her."

"You joke Shepard," Samara said disapprovingly, at least she was starting to recognize sarcasm. "But for all your bravado you will be in grave danger"

"She kills with sex." Shepard stated bluntly, "And I have NO plans to sleep with her."

"Perhaps you have a right to be glib, Shepard, but caution is wise here." Samara began pacing slightly. Equal parts frustration and determination bleeding into her voice as she continued, "Storming her den would be a mistake. She will have a hundred escape routes planned. She will go to ground and disappear for 50 years or more. This is the closest I've ever been."

"Right, I get that." Shepard said, "So you have any ideas on how to trap her before that happens?"

"Afterlife's VIP section. You must go there alone and unarmed." It was less of a suggestion and more of an expectation.

"Seriously?" Shepard asked disappointed.

"You cannot barge in with guns blazing." Samara explained, "Morinth is far too cagey, she'll simply disappear."

"So instead you want to use me as bait?!" The idea itself didn't bother Shepard. The way Samara simply expected this of her did.

"You can draw Morinth out." Samara said, "She'll certainly flee if she catches sight of me. But she won't be able to resist you. You are an artist on the battle field, you have the vital spark that attracts her."

"You're not very convincing you know." Shepard told her.

"Regardless, you swore you would assist me in this matter." Samara said back to her, "Rest assured I will be watching from the shadows, ready to strike when the time is right. Unless there is some other plan that I am aware of, I would recommend we move forward with this quickly before this opportunity escapes us."

"Alright," Shepard spoke up after a heavy pause, "If I'm doing this then I'm doing this right. Come on" She stepped past the Justicar and slammed her fist on the door's panel to force it open. She quickly stepped through before the door had opened fully.

"Where are you going?" Samara asked suddenly finding she had to move quickly just to keep up with the Spectre.

"Back to the Normandy." Shepard stated simply.

"But Why?" Samara couldn't quite hide her confusion.

"You really need to get out more." Shepard quipped, "I'm not going into a night club in armor. I need to look the part and that means grabbing the dress Kasumi got me."


	7. The Hunt

Morinth was bored. It seemed tonight would be a waste of time once again. Nothing in here was remotely interesting to her. The same pathetic patrons, thinking themselves superior but failing that on all accounts as they danced and drank themselves to a slow meaningless death. Perhaps her standards were set too high. There was no doubt that Nef had raised the bar in her own way. Morinth missed her little human pet, even with as much as she had enjoyed their final moments.

She was considering going to the public section of the club. Certainly there would be some fresh meat there for her to feast on. It was a risk, however, she wouldn't want to exposing her activities too much to Aria. Then again the risk itself would certainly add excitement to the hunt.

She was almost about to leave when fate suddenly produced a morsel of pure temptation. It was another human that had walked into the club at that moment. She was clearly nothing like Nef, however. This woman was strong and confident and deadly - She knew it too from the way she wore her little black dress. It was a sleek fit, purposefully hugging all the curves on the human's body, doing nothing to hide the well worn muscles under her smooth exposed skin. Indeed the dress purposefully tapered at a sharp angle to her neck, accenting her athletic shoulders. For what might have otherwise been a plain looking human, the entire effect was exotic and perhaps even a bit intoxicating.

Some might say she walked around like she owned the place. They would be wrong. What Morinth saw was something far better then that. This human walked as if any ownership claims were meaningless. She would simply take whatever she wanted. She wasn't afraid to lay bare exactly who she was, and was more then willing to confront anyone who didn't like what they saw.

The human was certainly no stranger to confrontation. This was a woman used to battle, Morinth realized. A soldier perhaps? Certainly a former soldier at least. Hers was a presence that had triumphed over death on multiple occasions. And those eyes, so seductive and pure, looked around the room with the precision of someone who was ready to kill at any moment.

She was hunting as well.

The realization filled Morinth with tantalizing intrigue. She couldn't resist the desire to watch this woman more closely.

The soldier's gaze locked onto a couple of Turians. Her first prey. The turians made the mistake of playing right into the human's taunts. Her attacks were swift, precise, deadly. There was no wasted motion. She wasn't some dumb military grunt, Morinth noted, she was someone who focused on the quick kill.

The cries of one of the strippers altered the human to her next prey. Another Turian, she warned him to leave, but the fool was too drunk to realize the danger he was in. Before he could lay a clawed finger on her, the Turian found himself flying through the air. He crumpled, unconscious, some distance away. The stripper gave words of appreciation, the human barely smiled back before she walked away. She appreciated the 'thank you's but wasn't motivated by them. Interesting, perhaps this soldier sees herself as some sort of vigilante?

She reached the bar moments later. The Krogan next to her made the mistake of insulting the human. Her third prey. She returned with her own threat, and stared down the Krogan. Morinth had no doubt that the soldier was willing to battle the Krogan if it came to that. It seemed suicidal, but it was the Krogan who backed down. Morinth wasn't surprised, this human had killed plenty of Krogan before; not just Krogan. She had killed enough to know exactly what sort of person was and wasn't a threat to her. A drunk Krogan at a bar barely registered compared to the threats this human had faced down.

Thus far none of the prey in this club had captured the human's interest - much like Morinth's own estimation of the local patrons moments earlier - but she was still hunting for something specific. Her eyes scanning the room, resting on every individual that could possibly have what she was looking for.

Morinth decided it was time to make her appearance. It would be interesting to see how the human would react to suddenly becoming the prey. She moved to the edge of the dancefloor leaning to one side of the path she knew her human soldier was about to walk past.

"My name is Morinth, I've been watching you." She called out as the soldier in the black dress got close enough to her. "You're the most interesting person in this place. I got a booth over here in the shadows, why don't you come sit with me." She turned and walked back to her booth without waiting for a response. The human wouldn't refuse the invitation, of that Morinth was certain.

"I've never seen you around here before." Morinth told her once the human was seated across from her at the booth. "First time here?"

"I usually hang out in the open club." The human told her. "I prefer to be with a more down to earth crowd, where people aren't trying to pretend they're something special." It took Morinth a moment to realize what she meant by 'down-to-earth'; a human saying, probably meant she was born there.

"So, you think I'm nothing special?" Morinth asked her, trying to throw her off balance.

"If I thought that, I wouldn't be sitting here." The human replied confidently without missing a beat.

"If that's the case, what brings you here?" Morinth asked smoothly, pretending not to be impressed.

"Do I need a reason?" The human returned, "I just figured I'd check out what all the hype was about." She smirked then and added, "I could ask you the same thing. It sounds like you're a regular here, but you're clearly on a different level then the rest of the boring crowd here."

"I can't deny the truth of it." Morinth smiled back, "I admit some nights I come here and there's no one interesting to talk to. But other nights this place manages to attract someone truly interesting." She locked her eyes with the woman across from her as she added, "Tonight it's you. Why is that?"

"I know what I like." The woman stated.

"Do you?" Morinth asked seductively.

The woman played it cool, but there was no doubt she was interested in Morinth, and she didn't care if Morinth knew it too.

"I can sit here and pretend I like all the same things you do." The human solider began as she moved closer to Morinth. "I can pretend I didn't notice you checking me out from the moment I set foot in this club. But none of that's important. The one thing we share that really matters is we both know what we want when we see it, and neither of us will let anything stop us getting it." She leaned forward slightly before adding, "From what I've seen I'm sure what you want right now ... is me."

"You are a very observant woman." Morinth said

"I've learned the hard way to keep an eye on all potential targets from the moment you enter any engagement." The words were clearly an admission of her military experience, but spoken with the obvious traces of desire. It was not lost on Morinth that this woman's bright blue eyes were both locked tight on her right now.

"You know, it dawns on me that you haven't told me your name." Morinth said with a practiced curiosity.

"You never asked." The woman said.

"Most people would have offered by now." Morinth added.

"But you know I'm not like most people." The woman shot back effortlessly, "Besides I get the impression you're not interested in my name." The implication was obvious. Morinth needn't have bothered giving her name. She knew what Morinth was really interested in and didn't mind. If anything this human was interested in the pretty much the same thing.

"You're so precise, direct, and patient." Morinth observed, "A military girl like you, I'm guessing you're a sniper of some sort."

"I prefer Infiltrator, sniper sounds so one dimensional." The woman replied calmly.

"An Infiltrator, is it?" Morinth cooed suggestively, "Are you planning on infiltrating anything in particular?"

"That depends," The woman played along in her own seductive tone, "Do you have anything in mind that needs ... infiltration?"

It was time to finish the hunt. "Do you want to get out of here? My apartment is nearby."

* * *

The Infiltrator had spent time wandering her apartment once they arrived there. She asked about some of the more interesting object on display that Morinth had acquired over the years. She was probably analyzing enemy territory. Morinth didn't mind, on the contrary she found the gesture fascinating. This woman was a master of the art of war, Morinth simply enjoyed watching the artist do her work.

"Interesting that you'd get an apartment so close to the club." the woman mentioned as she took a seat on the far end of the couch. "Especially considering how much time you must spend there."

"I love clubs," Morinth explained with a smile, "The people, movement, heat" She let the words linger enticingly.

"You can still feel the bass through the floor," The humans said, then added suggestively, "Through your body."

"Like the drums of a great hunt out for your blood." Morinth replied in kind.

"But here, it's muted," The human didn't miss a beat, "Almost safe."

"Is that what you want? To be safe?" Morinth asked her.

"No. I'd rather fight then hide." The intensity of those simple words spoken from the soldier's lips made Morinth's heart tingle in anticipation.

"Oh yes," Morinth agreed, "Better to take control of your own fate. I never understood the fascination with safety." She smiled at the human, not bothering to hide her desire, her lust, her hunger. The soldier didn't even so much as flinch, which only made her an even greater temptation. "Some of us choose differently, independence over submission." She walked over to the Infiltrator, sitting on her lap and wrapping an arm behind her neck. "I think we share that you and I."

"You compare us, but you're nowhere near my league." The Infiltrator said. It was a challenge pure and simple. The human had stared straight into Morinth's eyes, saw the clear and deadly predatory gaze within them. And rather then shy away she taunted her for more, daring her to unleash the darkest part of her soul.

"So strong." Morinth mused, then added with a deep hunger, "I need this." She shifted over, sitting next to her human, her Infiltrator, her prey.

Eyes went black as she reached out with her mind, allowing her power to flow out. Slowly at first, she would enjoy this before the inevitable end.

"Look into my eyes," Morinth commanded, "And tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want."

She expected some resistance. Her prey would certainly fight the intrusion, Morinth would have been disappointed otherwise. Many others before had attempted to resist her meld. When they did, she would encounter a soft wall filled with their thoughts and fears. Then she would simply push through, burning down their resistances if she had to.

What she felt as she tried to meld into the Infiltrator's mind was not unlike smashing her head onto an unyielding stone.

Instead of the soft veil she was expecting there was a solid impenetrable barrier of seemingly endless will and determination. Morinth had never felt such an incredibly resilient psyche before. And likely one experienced with Asari melding given how quickly her mind reacted to the intrusion.

The woman looked at her, the smile on her lips clearly showing she knew precisely what Morinth had just attempted and failed to accomplish.

"Sorry, I'm not the victim you were hoping for." Shepard said through her knowing smirk.

"But ... you?" Morinth had never experienced someone who could so completely resist her, and she never expected such from a human of all things. "Who are you?"

She didn't answer, she didn't need to. It didn't take long for Morinth to put the pieces together. She knew the human had been hunting for specific prey all night long. Even now.

Morinth had been her prey all along.

There could only be one reason why a human would have sought her out like this. "I see what's going on. The bitch herself found a little helper."

As if in response the door to her apartment opened suddenly. It should have been locked, ... unless of course the expert Infiltrator managed to unlock it without being noticed while wandering the apartment earlier.

Her fears were confirmed the moment the Justicar stepped through the door, eyes locked on her, filled with hate that only she could manage.

Hate Morinth returned in kind as she stared back at Samara.

Her Mother.


	8. The Decision

The Justicar was already ablaze with rage and biotic power as she strolled forward.

"Morinth!" Samara called out the disgust she felt barely hidden in her undertones. Merely lifting one hand she sent out a powerful biotic thrust that caught Morinth in a tight grip and sent her flying against the thick living room window with enough force to nearly destroy it. The glass held, leaving Morinth pinned against the heavily cracked surface.

"Mother." Morinth said calmly, with only a hint of strain to her voice.

"Do not call me that!" Samara demanded, sending another wave of biotic force against the Ardat-Yakshi.

Morinth strained further under the force of her mother's assault, but she did not budge, subtlety using her own biotics to resist the Justicar's onslaught.

"I can't choose to stop being your daughter, mother." Morinth said easily despite the obvious strain. She spat out the word 'mother' as if it was some terrible insult. From her mother's response it likely had the desired effect.

"You made your choice long ago." Samara said accusingly. Her voice dripping with disgust and disapproval.

"What Choice!" Morinth cried out, not bothering to hide her own rage. She unleashed a powerful burst of biotic force, easily overpowering Samara and causing her to stagger backwards.

"My only crime was being born with the gifts you gave me!" Morinth strode forward fearlessly meeting the Justicar head on. As she screamed she captured the unbalanced Justicar in a lift while simultaneously pulling a seat off the ground and throwing it at her mother. Samara was only barely able to deflect the attack, breaking out of Morinth's hold but falling awkwardly to the floor.

"Enough Morinth!" Samara exclaimed. Unable to keep her emotions locked down any longer, her voice was filled with more rage and frustration then Shepard had ever heard from her. She lashed out with a biotic punch from her prone position. It was so raw and so undisciplined it caught Morinth by surprise, twirling her in the air several times before she stumbled to the ground.

The two Asari stumbled to their feet but were quickly ready to attack. Both of them unleashed their biotic power, clashing in the space between them with a torrent of energy that pulled at everything surrounding them.

"I am the genetic destiny of the Asari," Morinth continued to taunt her mother, "But they are not ready to reveal this, so I must die."

"You are a disease to be purged, nothing more." Samara spat out.

Shepard watched the entire exchange grimly. For the moment all she could do was stay back and let the two powerful biotics go at it. Getting anywhere near them seemed like a guaranteed way to get ripped apart by their competing biotic wrath. For the moment they were locked in the Asari equivalent of an arm wrestling match, neither of them could overpower the other, and neither of them was willing to back down. They would both keep pushing until one of them collapsed. It was clear what the result of that would be to whoever was unfortunate enough to fall first.

"You have sworn to help me, Shepard." Samara called out to her, having realized as much, "Let us finish this!"

"I'm as strong as she is," Morinth suddenly countered, "Let me join you."

It felt like a long time for Shepard, simply standing there watching the small hurricane of biotic energy swirl between mother and daughter. She hated this, she hated this mission and everything it came to represent. She hated the compromises expected of her. This wasn't what she was fighting for.

In the end there was only one decision for her.

Morinth's eyes looked up at the sound of a heavy pistol unfolding and charging up. She could see the gun in Shepard's hand pointed right at her head.

"I promised your mother I would help find you." Shepard said coldly, "I fulfilled my end of the bargain."

It was clear by the look in her eyes that Morinth knew she was dead. Even if her Barriers managed to stop the bullet, Samara would certainly take advantage of the situation. Despite this, Morinth stared directly at Shepard, she too refused to finch in the face of certain death. If she was going to die, she would die free.

The shot was loud even over the deafening sound of the biotic storm.

But that shot was not aimed at Morinth. Shepard had purposefully shifted her aim at the last moment. Instead it struck the lighting fixture on the ceiling between the two Asari. The disruptor rounds Shepard had used quickly overloaded the electricity in the light, causing a small EMP-like blast of energy. The foreign blast disrupted the biotic forces between Samara and Morinth, dissipating the storm brining a sudden and unexpected stop to their biotic battle.

"I'm sorry Samara," Shepard told her somberly as she lowered her gun, "I won't help you kill your own daughter." To hell with expectations and compromises. Shepard knew the only real decision was to do what she felt was right. "Consider yourself freed from your Oath."

Mother and daughter stood in silence staring at the Spectre in disbelief. All around them sparks of electricity danced around the ruins of the lighting fixture as the remains of the electrical and biotic energies that were unleashed moments before. Morinth was shocked that Shepard had spared her. Samara, however, quickly grew enraged by the betrayal.

"You will regret your choice." Samara said with her eerie emotionless tone once again. The look in her eyes betrayed the rage she had shifted onto Shepard.

Shepard noticed the hate in her eyes, just moments before the Justicar flared with biotic energy once again. Shepard knew Samara's murderous intent would be directed at her this time. Battle instincts took over; in an attempt to defend herself Shepard immediately raised her gun firing a shot at the Justicar. The shot grazed her shoulder but it was already too late. The biotic pulse left her hand and arced across the living room, slamming into Shepard and sending her flying.

Shepard didn't have to plan out the trajectory in her mind to realize Samara had thrown her towards the cracked window. At this speed she would certainly break through, and as painful as that would inevitably be, she would still find herself on the wrong side of the apartment's view. Without any biotics of her own there would be nothing to prevent her from falling to her death.

Shepard heard the crashing of the window, and smelled the unfiltered air of Omega Station from outside the room flowing around her. However she never felt the sudden body wide jolt of slamming into glass like she was expecting. Nor did she feel like she was falling.

Shepard put her hands down, not even remembering how she had instinctually raised them to protect her head from the eminent collision. She realized then she was floating on the edge of the apartment's window, held securely by a bubble of biotic energy. Looking around she saw Morinth with a hand reaching out to her. She had caught the spectre in midair, though her gaze remained locked on the Justicar.

"Oh mother, so easily distracted." Morinth said cruelly. She raised her other hand, clutched tightly in a fist. She had been building up biotic energy in one hand even as she reached out to save Shepard with the other. "I'm the one you should be focused on."

Morinth unleashed the energy in her hand straight at her foe. It hit Samara square in her chest, knocking her hard on her back. Morinth didn't waste the opportunity, strolling forward with a purpose. Even as she did so, Shepard felt her biotic bubble being nudged forward back into the apartment, descending with an unusual calmness then dissipating the moment her feet touched the floor.

By then Morinth was on top of Samara, quickly straddling the Justicar and gripping her tightly by the throat, leaving her prone and defenseless to her next attack.

"Goodbye, mother." Morinth said her final words to Samara before driving a bioticaly charged fist through her skull.

It was brutal, Shepard remembered thinking, but then it was no more brutal then the way Samara had kiled her victims while on the hunt for her daughter. Certainly 'the Butcher of Torfan' was not someone qualified to judge another when it came to excessive brutality.

Morinth stood up staring down at the broken body of her dead mother for some time. All things considerd, Shepard opted to remain quiet until she was ready to speak.

"Thank you Shepard," Morinth eventually spoke up, "My mother was as powerful as she was hateful."

"I noticed." Shepard said dryly. She walked up to Morinth as the Ardat-Yakshi turned to face her.

"I gotta ask." Morith spoke up first, "Where the hell did you hide that gun in that dress?"

Shepard looked down at the heavy pistol in her hand for a moment before saying, "Let's just call it a trade secret." She collapsed the gun and latched it onto her side. "Going into the den of a biotic killer, with another crazy biotic behind me. No fucking way I was going into that situation without a backup weapon."

"Well you certainly are full of surprises aren't you." Morinth laughed.

"I see you're not exactly mourning the death of your mother." Shepard commented.

"Why should I, she was dead to me long ago." Morinth confessed. Shepard realized it had been the same with Samara.

"I suppose you have a point." Shepard looked down at the dead Justicar before adding, "It's too bad though, she was supposed to help me on an important mission. Guess we'll have to manage with out her."

"Not at all. You helped me, now I'll help you." Morinth offered, "Let me take my mother's place on your team."

"What? Seriously?" Shepard hadn't expected that.

"Sure. Why not?" Morinth let out a soft laugh.

_'Just once I'd like to ask someone for help and hear them say "Sure. Let's go. Right now. No strings attached."'_ Shepard remembered saying those words when they had first recruited Mordin, and now here was someone very powerful and capable doing just that. Suddenly the phrase _'be careful what you wish for, you might just get it'_ was also in her mind.

"You don't even know what the mission is." Shepard said.

"I know it's going to be dangerous, and I know you're going to be there." Morinth said almost teasingly, "That's all I need to know."

Shepard wanted to argue the point but she realize she had nothing to counter with. Morinth wouldn't be the first killer she had on the crew. ( Miranda had technically taken that title when she killed Wilson literally seconds after meeting her for the first time. ) Nor was she the first wanted criminal on the ship either. ( Jack flat out took the cake on that one. )

"Well when you put it that way, who am I to argue." Shepard shrugged, "It's gonna be real interesting trying to explain this one to the crew."

"Fortunately you don't need to." Morinth smiled, "I'm a dead ringer for my belated mother. Few people can tell us apart."

"You want to pretend to be her?" Shepard confirmed, "Don't bother. I don't particularly care who knows about you."

"That's cute, Shepard." Morinth told her, "But I highly doubt everyone in your crew will be as comfortable having a killer like me among them." Shepard was about to point out the flaw in her logic but she continued before Shepard could interject, "Even if that wasn't the case the Asari government knew my mother was hunting me down. If they discover what happened here they will definitely come after me, and anyone who knows the truth about me. I'm sure you'd prefer not to deal with that distraction."

"Alright, I get your point." Shepard began, "But no matter how much you look like her, you're clearly nothing like her." She was sure Morinth would take that as a compliment, she could hardly blame her, "You act and sound completely different."

"Please Shepard, give me some credit," Morinth smiled, suddenly it was Samara's voice talking to her through Morinth's mouth as she added, "I practiced long and hard, to mimic her in every way."

"Creepy," Shepard admitted the eerie similarity, "Almost like you absorbed your mother's soul."

"Don't be silly." Morith smiled, still speaking with Samara's voice, "I have a wide range of talents beyond my biotic abilities. Acting is one of them. It took years to perfect, but when I was younger, posing as my mother brought its advantages." She couldn't resist a smirk as she added, "How do you think I originally escaped from Thessia?"

"Well unfortunately you're far from perfect." Shepard commented.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Morith asked.

"You're way too emotional." Shepard explained, "And by that I mean you're actually showing emotion, in your voice, on your face, all over your body. The only time Samara ever showed any ounce of emotion was when she talked about you." Shepard paused for a beat then added, "She really hated you."

"The feeling is mutual I'm afraid." Morinth's face suddenly lost all trace of emotion, her body straightened like an empty statue, and when she spoke there wasn't even a hint of passion in her stolen voice. In other words she was exactly like Samara, "But you are correct Shepard. I shall endevour to emulate my mother more closely."

"Impressive." was all Shepard could say. Only the slight hint of emotion coming off Morinth's eyes betrayed her real identity.

"I'll take that compliment as proof that my disguise is complete." Morinth said as her mother. Then just as easily as taking off a jacket, she discarded the persona of her mother. Instantly she was Morinth once again, with all of the passion and emotion her mother lacked. "Let me just slip into this horrible uniform and none will be the wiser."

"You're actually going to take your mother's clothes?" Shepard asked.

"Not much choice there, Shepard." Morinth explained, "If I leave her belongings here anyone who investigates will quickly figure out what happened. And a Justicar would never be caught in public outside of their traditional uniform. So my disguise will be pointless without it."

"Point taken." Shepard acknowledged, "You should hurry then, we need to head back to the ship."

"Believe me, I'm looking forward to it." Morith's smile was both eager and genuine, "This is going to be fun."


	9. The Recruit

"Sorry EDI, but Samara would like some privacy." Shepard said and she triggered the sequence on her omni-tool.

"I understand Comm-" EDI's synthetic voice was cut off quickly as the disruption field Shepard created shut down all of the bugs and communication devices in the room.

"There now we should be safe from prying ears for the moment at least." Shepard told the Asari in the Justicar armor. "So what do you think of your accommodations?"

"Surprisingly, nice." Morinth spoke in her own voice for the first time since getting on the Normandy. "Bigger then I imagined. Mother normally needs - needed - little more then a cot with a view."

Shepard had managed to lead "Samara" to her room quickly enough. Morinth maintained an icy silence to anyone who who tried to talk to her, and a quick dismissal to anyone who persisted. Shepard had to admit, Morinth was doing an amazing job of portraying Samara's ridiculously stoic character, with only the barest hint of sadness over the loss of her own daughter. That last part seemed to be more of a fantasy on Morinth's part, or at least that's what Shepard suspected. She wasn't entirely convinced that Samara would have mourned Morinth's death had the tables been turned. Of course she had somewhat of a unique perspective on the matter.

"Yeah well just be careful around the crew." Shepard suggested, bringing her thoughts back to present matters, "Some of them are pretty smart, others are just really nosey, and it's pretty hard to keep any secrets on a ship." Also Shepard really hated keeping secrets from her crew. But it was clear Morinth preferred to keep the truth about herself hidden, which was understandable all things considered. "Kelly Chambers in particular will probably want to talk to you about some therapy bullshit to help you deal with the loss of your own daughter."

Morinth couldn't resist a quick laugh at Shepard's words. "I'd say she's going to be sorely disappointed then."

"Let's just hope it stays at disappointment." Shepard mentioned, making a mental note to talk to Chambers about staying the hell away from 'Samara'. It was for her own good, really. "Fortunately for you, Samara didn't exactly get along with the rest of the crew, so she pretty much stayed to herself."

"Not remotely surprising, if anything that's actually a little sad." Morinth commented in a light casual voice. "400 years chasing me and she probably never once got laid."

"Is that empathy for your mother? I'm kinda shocked." Shepard said plainly.

"Hardly," Morinth replied, non-pulsed, "Her circumstances were of her own making. She imprisoned herself behind duty and proper etiquette even before she tried to enforce the same with me and my sisters. Naturally it didn't quite take with me."

"Yeah, speaking of," Shepard said, arms crossed, in a tone filled with authority, "We're setting some ground rules. Mainly, no death melding with anyone else on this ship."

"Oh please Shepard." Morinth smiled at her, "I would never do anything to sabotage my spot on this grand adventure."

"It's more then that." Shepard told her, "You're part of the crew now. That means you have people that depend on you, and people you can depend on. Don't do anything to fuck it up. Do you understand?"

Morinth was silent for just long enough to betray the significance of Shepard's words, "I admit this is a little new to me. I'm so used to being on my own, never being able to depend on anyone else. I'll be honest, there's going to be a transition period for me."

_She was at least willing to try_, Shepard thought, which was more then she could say about her mother. "So this isn't going to be a problem then?"

"Of course not, why would it be?" Morinth said mirthfully.

"Well, to be blunt, your condition has been described as ... narcotic." Shepard informed her. She didn't expect Morinth to genuinely laugh at her words.

"Is that what Mother don't you?" Morinth began, "Who am I kidding, of course that's what she told you. In fact I'm sure you've been told all sorts of horror stories about my 'condition'. I've collected quite a few fun myths about Ardat-Yakshi over the centuries. We should compare notes sometime, in case I missed any new ones."

"Samara made it pretty clear that killing is addictive to an Ardat-Yakshi." Shepard said in a stern tone that demanded an explanation.

"It's not that killing is addictive, per se'." Morinth said with a predatory smile, "Seductive would be more accurate."

"Don't suppose you could clarify?" Shepard asked her.

"Imagine everytime you fuck somebody you experience the most amazing orgasm imaginable." Morinth spoke with a blatant layer of lust in her voice as she walked seductively towards the Commander, "Now imagine afterwards you feel stronger, smarter, healthier, simply better in every way. It's hard to resist something like that." Morinth moved close to Shepard, well into her personal space, every small motion showing her desire, even as she purred her next words, "Particularly since the only price for all that power is paid for by the person next to you at the time."

"If you're trying to seduce me, we both know how well that turned out for you last time." Shepard said harshly. Despite her words Shepard was surprised by just how intoxicatingly alluring Morinth could be even as she tempted Shepard with death.

"What can I say, I find you fascinating, Shepard." Morinth cooed even as she walked away from the Commander, "I've never met anyone like you, and no one in the past 400 years has ever been able to resist me like you have."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Shepard said.

"Good, you should." Morinth smiled.

"Just to be clear," Shepard continued with determination, "If you can't control yourself we're going to have a problem. I don't think I need to explain how I deal with problems." She figured one good death threat deserved another.

"If I can control myself?" Morinth said, "Oh yes. That's the dirty little secret Samara never told you." She turned to face Shepard while leaning back against one of the long benches in the room. "The truth that no other Asari would ever admit to is as seductive as this power is, it can be resisted. I am not quite the unthinking, uncontrollable monster they would paint me as."

"Perhaps not." Shepard shot back, "But you are a killer."

"Oh absolutely." Morinth smirked, "I don't deny it one bit. But I kill because I want to, not because I have to."

"Well there's a comforting thought." Shepard spoke dripping with icy sarcasm.

"Are you so different?" Morinth replied smoothly, "Is anyone on this ship for that matter? I can see it in their eyes, most of the crew have killed before, many of them even enjoyed it. Asari have a saying 'Know yourself, and you will know others like you.'"

"In other words, 'It takes one to know one'." Shepard reiterated the human idiom. She didn't bother denying the fact that she enjoyed her job. "The difference is the people I kill usually want to kill me back."

"We might use different guidelines but at the end of the day we both enjoy doing what we do best." Morinth continued without missing the beat, "If there's one major difference it's simply that I accepted what I am a long time ago. I don't need to lie to myself about it."

"This doesn't exactly instill any confidence that you won't be tempted to mind rape somebody." Shepard replied.

"Oh I never said I wasn't tempted." Morinth laughed softly leering over Shepard's body, "But if it makes you feel, you're the only interesting morsel in this entire ship." She licked her lips slightly to accent her words, "Even if that wasn't the case, I'm a grown woman, and - just to be clear - I can control myself."

"So long as we're all clear then." Shepard deadpanned. She refused to play Morinth's games.

"I promise you Shepard." Morinth smiled warmly, but she was no longer layering on her usual seductive charms this time, "I won't 'mind rape' anyone on this ship."

Shepard merely nodded her acknowledgement before she turned to leave in order to let the Ardar-Yakshi settle in.

"Oh and Shepard." Morinth's voice stopping Shepard mid-stride, "Thanks."

"Just wait till you see what we're up against." Shepard smiled this time, "Might not be thanking me then."

"-ander Shepard? I believe I have reestablished communication to Samara's room." EDI's voice rang out suddenly, effectively ending any potential conversation.

"Already?" Shepard said in an amused tone as she checked her Omni-tool's chronometer, "You're getting better at this."

"My adaptive heuristics allow me to analyse and develop better solutions for similar problems." EDI explained, "In simple terms, I am learning."

"This is why I completely removed most of the bugs in my cabin." Shepard mentioned as she stepped out of the room. There was certainly more to discuss but it could wait for another time. For now Shepard would have to keep an eye on Morinth. She'd probably enjoy that anyway.

.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's been reading, enjoying, and/or reviewing this story as it continues to grow. I promise you there's a lot more in store, hopefully well into ME3 territory and beyond. Stay tuned and keep the faves / reviews / good vibes going!**_


	10. The Crew

Morinth spent very little time getting settled in. By necessity she was forced to pack extremely light. She might be able to do something about that at some point, but for now she had to make due with little more then her mother's ugly uniform. So instead she spent most of the time searching for and removing every monitoring device in her room, ensuring that nosey AI wouldn't be able to discover her secret. It was quite ridiculous the number of hidden bugs spread through out the entire room. It was almost as if Cerberus didn't trust anyone.

Once she was satisfied with her privacy Morinth took a moment to take in her new living arrangements. She could just imagine the way her mother must have stayed hours meditating in front of the massive observation window. To her credit, the view was quite beautiful. Unfortunately it was also boring. Given the vastness of space one could only look at the same unchanging sprawl of stars before it became mind numbing. Morinth herself preferred to sit in one of the room's dark corners. Not only was it more comfortable then squatting on the cold floor, but it also meant she would be able to see anyone coming into the room before they could see her.

It didn't take long for her to start getting bored of simply sitting around, however. Unlike her mother, Morinth was a social creature. The Justicar might have been perfectly happy denying herself all personal interactions, but her daughter wasn't nearly so frigid. Morinth knew she would go crazy without someone to talk to. Even if she had no intention of hunting anyone in the crew - she would keep her promise to Shepard after all - there was nothing wrong with getting to know the rest of the crew.

Of course, interacting too closely too soon would surely give her away. Morinth realized with some frustration that she was stuck for now.

Then again, she also realized she was getting hungry. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch for the Justicar to want to feed herself, right? It would make a good excuse for engaging in a bit of crew interaction after all.

Fortunately no one else on the ship had any experience with Justicars before now. She would have to use that advantage carefully.

She took a moment to make sure every piece of her mother's uniform was worn perfectly. A true Justicar would not allow anything to be out of place. Satisfied with her outfit's precision, she turned her focus towards the real disguise. Morinth took a deep breath then forced all emotion deep inside, locked away from all prying eyes, until all that remained was a fabricated aura of sanctimonious rightousness. Already she could feel a tightness in her neck that made her uncomfortable. Good, that frustration would make her act more believable. She took a moment extra just to make sure her mother's facade was perfectly placed before stepping out of her room and heading to the mess.

The area was filled primarily with off duty humans enjoying their lunch, as one would expect on a Cerberus vessel. What Morinth found more interesting was several non-human crew members who were eating along with them. There was a massive Krogan sitting alone devouring equally massive portions of food. Everyone seemed intent on avoiding him, clearly uncomfortable with the behemoth in their midst.

By contrast there was a Turian and a Quarian sitting together. Both of them were slowly eating obviously dextro food while talking with each other with the sort of banter that marked them as old friends. This would have normally separated them further from the rest of the human crew. Strangely, however, Morinth noticed they were still engaging many of the crew members around them, talking and laughing about all matter of subjects. There were more then a few humans intent on avoiding those two, certainly. However unlike the Krogan they seemed motivated more by personal prejudices then primal fears. The rest of the humans near them seemed fairly happy conversing with their fellow non-human crew members.

That much was not something Morinth would have expected from Cerberus personel. She wondered if this was Shepard's influence. Clearly this was more the Commander's ship then it was Cerberus'.

Morinth followed the scent of food towards the kitchen area and was quickly met with her first challenge of this little excursion in the form of the middle-aged human standing before her. She had no idea what sort of food was typically served here; the sort of meals that everyone on the same ship for an extended period of time would have come to expect by now. Nor did she have any idea if Samara had developed any favorites from that menu.

It proved to be a minor challenge as Morinth quickly figured out the solution to that obstacle. It didn't matter what the typical menu on the ship was, the response would be the same every time. Even if Samara had any favorites, the Justicar certainly would never have made them known to anyone.

Morinth simply walked up to Gardner, and stared expectantly. She maintained her perfect impassive Samara mask without so much of a hint of emotion even as her body language gave the subtle impression of frustration that her mother would certainly give off at having to interact with any of the crew that no doubt had long ago been deemed unworthy for one stupid reason or another.

"Uh ... can I help you ... ma'am?" Gardner said eventually.

"I've come for sustenance." Morinth said in Samara's emotionless voice, after a beat she added, "Clearly."

"Err, right." Gardner said eventually. He quickly got over his awkwardness, grabbing a plate and filling it with the contents of the large stew pot next to him before offering it to 'Samara', "Here you go ma'am."

Morinth made sure to remain as frigid as possible as she took the plate without so much as a word. The response to her actions, and lack of it, assuring her that her disguise remained perfectly obscure. She managed to resist the urge to curl the edge of her lips in a secret smile. Then again Mother did make it too easy.

She set her plate down on a nearby table, not far from the other non-humans where she would rattle the fewest Cerberus personel. She began sampling the strange food before her and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted. Certainly not the best stew she's ever had, but still far better then what she expected. Of course she wouldn't allow even this small pleasure to show on her face.

"Well, well, look who decided to grace us with her presence." The smooth metallic voice was not only clearly non-human, but also clearly sarcastic. Morinth looked up to see the Turian looking back at her, his forehead plates were pulled back slightly in the Turian equivalent of a smirk. Morinth knew this was not something a Justicar would simply ignore.

"What do you mean." Samara's voice demanded as Morinth stared back with the same impassive face of disapproval she had seen so many times before.

"I mean this is the first time that I can remember seeing you eating among us common folk." Garrus Vakarian was his name, Morinth recalled from the ship's roster that Shepard had given her.

"I'm honestly surprised!" The Quarian piped up suddenly. Tali-something, Quarians had a rather atypical naming convention. Morinth decided she would have to review the girl's information again. "I was starting to think you didn't actually eat. I figured you probably just absorb the energy of the universe or something." Whatever her name was, Morinth already liked her.

It was an simple yet obvious mistake in hindsight. An amateur would certainly panic the moment anyone noticed any flaw in their disguise. An expert however would simply devote more to selling their cover.

"Given recent circumstances, I simply had no desire to be alone right now." Despite her words, there wasn't a hint of sorrow or pain on Morinth's expression or tone. Just like they would expect of the Justicar. From the subtle shift spreading on the Turian's face, Morinth was confident the feint had been successful.

"Fair enough." Garrus told her, "I suppose we're just grateful you haven't threatened to kill any of us yet."

Morinth had to fight back the sudden desire to chuckle at the joke made at her mother's expense. She found it almost charming the way Garrus was trying to make her feel better with humor, or rather how he was trying to console her Mother despite the fact she had clearly done nothing to deserve his kindness.

Part of her wanted to keep speaking with the two of them, but she knew she was pushing her luck already. This small gesture would be enough to lay the groundwork for future interactions. For now she needed to shut down the situation quickly.

"You should be grateful that my Oath to Shepard prevents me from silencing you as the Code demands." Morinth told the Turian calmly. She was giving them exactly what they expected and she knew it.

"And there's the death threat we were waiting for." Garrus said. "You almost had me worried, Samara."

"Don't worry for me." Morinth replied coldly as she stood to leave. As much as she wanted to stay, her cover demanded that the Justicar leave the presence of the unworthy in this situation.

"Samara? What the hell are you doing here?" Shepards voice stopped her before she could step away. Looking up she saw Shepard walking up to the communal area while staring at her.

"Apparently she had no desire to be alone." Garrus told the Commander, "I know, we were all just as shocked as you are."

"Rest assured, Shepard." Morinth spoke up before things got out of hand. "The desire is now gone." Without another word she grabbed her plate and walked towards her cabin.

Once she moved past the edge of the wall separating the mess from the crew quarters in the rear, Morinth moved herself out of view and listened carefully to ensure she hadn't left behind any lingering doubts.

"And people say I had a stick up my ass." She overheard Garrus commenting, "Really Shepard, I'm genuinely surprised you haven't tried to kill her yet."

"You have no idea Garrus." Shepard said with a sigh.

"Well forget about that insufferable bitch." Tali said, "Why don't you join us for lunch?"

"Thanks but I'm good." Shepard responded after a pause, "Actually I just came to tell you guys we'll be heading to Tuchanka soon."

"Ha! Finally! I'm eager to speak with more of my kind!" Grunt bellowed from his seat.

"Me too, Grunt. But we're also going to there to look into a matter for Mordin." Shepard explained.

"What does a salarian care about the Krogan homeworld." Grunt said with a distrustful tone.

"It's nothing you need to worry about Grunt, trust me." Shepard said. And he did, Morinth realized, the young Krogan probably trusted no one other then Shepard in fact.

"But actually I figured you two in particular would be interested in coming down to visit." Shepard continued. Morinth assumed she was referring to the other two non-humans.

"Shepard, what makes you think that I would want to risk life and limb by being the only Turian in the middle of all those Krogran?" Garrus asked her.

"Because it just so happens that an old friend of ours is currently sitting on the throne of the Urdnot camp where we'll be landing." Morinth could tell Shepard was smiling now.

"Urdnot? You mean Wrex!" Tali squealed with glee, "This is wonderful Garrus! We'll get to see Wrex again!"

"I can hardly wait." Garrus said. Despite the sarcastic tone Morinth could tell the Turian was happier about the prospect then he had been moments ago.

She found it quite interesting that Shepard had friends even among the Krogan. Grunt was no fluke. Neither was the Turian or Quarian, for that matter. That human had an uncanny ability to make friends with the most unusual people. Morinth had to wonder if she would end up on that list. She quickly dismissed that idea however. There wasn't much point in worrying about friendship when you kill everything you love.

For now she was satisfied that her secret was still intact. Morinth allowed herself a small smile as she went into her room, securing the door behind her.


	11. The Tale

It was a few weeks later when Morinth had the opportunity to interact with more of the crew. Perhaps Samara had made a habit of always eating alone in her room, but Morinth wasn't going to be satisfied with that. So she began spending more of her time in the common area of the mess hall. It was purposefully minor changes at first. A quick meal when she knew there would be fewer people around. Always sitting far away from everyone, and refusing to speak with anyone when she did. Just enough to get the crew used to her presence without finding it odd.

They had arrived on Tuchanka a few days ago. Garrus, Tali, Grunt, and Morin had joined Commander Shepard down on the surface. Krogans didn't really like too many visitors on their homeworld - and just having a Turian and a Salarian in their midst was dangerous enough already - so Shepard had informed the crew not to travel down there unless they had a damn good reason. Not surprisingly, no one else had any desire to head down to that irradiated wasteland.

Today Morinth was once again sitting in the communal area. She had already finished her meal but she decided to stick around as she listened to the grizzled mercenary, Zaeed, talking about recent missions. Though she made sure not to show it, Morinth was enjoying the way Zaeed could spin a tale.

"So there we was," The mercenary continued in his gravel voice, "the entire bloody refinery is burning like a fuckin roman candle. Vido's getting away, and Shepard forces us to stop to have a chat. Let me tell you, I've seen sights that would send a Krogan running to their mother. But nothing quite like the sight of that woman when she's genuinely pissed at you. If I hadn't been so focused on killin' Vido I might 'ave pissed me-self right then."

"Shepard's just railing at me about the innocent bystanders in the refinery." Zaeed continued, crossing his large armored hands across his thick muscled chest. "And I just don't give a damn, you know. I'm there to kill the man who took 20 years of my life, I couldn't care less about anything else. That's when she punches me, right across the jaw. Never been hit quite like that in ma' life, and I know she's still pullin' back so as not to kill me outright. That sure as fuck got my attention. But I make my case, this is my mission and the mission is killin' Vido, not saving civies."

"'Fine' she says 'but we'll do it my way'." Zaeed threw his hands up as he talked about Shepard. "Want to know what her way was? She sends Jacob here to open all the gates seal all the valves and let the hostages out so they can all be saved. At the same time she and I go straight after Vido." He nods over to another table where Jacob is sitting. The Cerberus soldier simply shakes his head without adding anything.

Zaeed just smiled as he recalled what happened next, "So there we are, a man down and with the entire Blue Suns army between me and Vido. You'd think we was at a disadvantage. Not ashamed to admit the thought crossed my mind. But as it turns out that's not the case. Don' get me wrong, I'm doing a bloody decent job of taking my share of mercs down, but Shepard is just mowing them down at a distance like a fucking machine. She's not even wasting a single goddamn bullet. Every shot another Blue Sun dies. Hell after a while it's obvious I'm just playing bait. I run up, make a lot of noise, get them to pop their heads out of cover. Even if it's just for a second they might as well stand out in the open for days with the way Shepard can dial in her shots."

Zaeed leaned forward with a satisfied smile as he told the next part, "Even when that Heavy Mech came out it was still like a walk in the park. Hell I damn near shit my pants when I saw that massive robot walking up to me. But Shepard, she just puts two shots right to that thing's head at a hundred paces. And I'm talkin' the same bloody hole one after the other. Barely had time to find cover before the bloody thing went nuke on us. Took out the rest of the mercs with it. After that there wasn't much point sticking around so I run straight out to the landing pad. Vido never expected we'd go through his men so fast. Found him crawling like baby trying to get away from me. He was right scared of me by that point let me tell you, begging for his life like the cowardly cunt that he is. Guess he never realized I had Shepard behind me the whole time and figured I did all the killin'; didn't bother correcting him. By the time Shepard caught up to me that man was already nothing more then a screaming burning pile of sweet vengeance."

"Wow." One of the shocked crew members said finally. Morinth was equally entertained watching the crew reactions as she was listening to the story itself.

"So what happened to Jacob?" Another crew member spoke up.

"Well I'm here ain't I?" Jacob spoke up.

"I mean what happened? Did you run into any Blue Sun mercs?" The crewman clarified.

"Are you bloody kiddin me?" Zaeed cut in loudly, "By the time me and Shepard ran through the bloody place there wasn't a single fuckin Blue Sun soul left to get in his way."

"It was pretty toasty in there trying to avoid getting well done." Jacob added, "No thanks to you, I might add."

"If you say so Boy Scout." Zaeed laughed, "No question you had the cushy detail this time."

Morinth was no longer focused on the conversation by that point as something else had piqued her attention. She had caught Miranda Lawson walking into her room moments ago. Miranda always forced herself to show an icy exterior that rivaled her own mother when she wanted to. But unlike the late Justicar, Miranda wasn't nearly so emotionless. Morinth figured out from the first moment she met the Cerberus Operative that Miranda always felt like she had something to prove. Overall, though, Morinth found Miranda to be well below her interest level.

But when Miranda walked out of her office that wasn't the case. This time Morinth saw something different. Miranda was still trying to wear that emotional shell around her that made it impossible for most of the crew to tell what she was feeling. But Morinth knew a lost little lamb when she saw one. Miranda was worried about something. Not just worried, the stoic controlling XO was actually scared. The slight tremble of her eyes, the unnatural tension in her shoulders; this woman was as desperate for help as she was desperate not to show it. Whatever the problem was, it was something deeply personal to her.

Under a different situation Morinth might have taken advantage of that. As it was, she found it hard to resist her curiosity on this rare occasion.

"Miss Lawson," Morith called out to her in her mother's stoic tone, "Is something wrong?"

"It's none of your concern." Miranda shot back in that fascinating human accent of hers, making her distress even more obvious to Morinth.

If she was playing a different angle Morinth would could have used any one of a hundred calming phrases to disarm even the uptight Miranda and eventually convince her to tell her everything. But playing the strict passionless Justicar limited her options significantly.

Not that this bothered Morinth any. On the contrary, she enjoyed the challenge it provided.

"You are correct." Morith replied bluntly, "I am not asking out of concern. But I find your constant nervous pacing to be quite aggravating. I would prefer to resolve whatever troubles you rather than suffer your continued distress." Her harsh words spoken without a trace of emotion in her voice only further intensified the effect. Miranda could not stand the thought that her perfect exterior might be showing any flaw, exactly as Morinth had predicted.

"This issue is personal." Miranda hissed crossing her arms, "And not something you can help me with. I will handle the matter and ensure I don't disturb your precious peace." Forcing herself to remain in control only made it easier for Morinth to play her.

"If I believed you could manage this matter without assistance I would not have inquired about it." Morith responded without so much as a pause, "The fact you are so very distressed about it proves this is something you cannot handle on your own."

"Even if we were to pretend that what you are saying is true," Miranda said defiantly, effectively confirming that everything Morinth had said was true, "I certainly would not trust you with this problem."

"In that case the solution is simple." Morith told her calmly, "Find someone you can trust with this issue." After a beat she added, "I would recommend Commander Shepard as the natural choice."

"You really think I can trust Shepard?" Miranda said dismissively.

"Of course you can." 'Samara' said with complete conviction, "Whether or not you chose to is your decision."

"I doubt it's so simple." Miranda said in disbelief, "Shepard doesn't even like me."

"It is that simple. Shepard doesn't much care for me either."_ More specifically she really didn't like Mother_, Morinth thought to herself before adding, "And yet the Commander was still willing to assist me. Shepard might be a lot of things." Morinth added just a hint of disapproval, because Samara would no doubt disapprove, "But she is honorable in her own way. On this matter you can trust the word of a Justicar." It was almost surprising that she managed to keep a straight face with that last one.

"Then I will take your suggestion under advisement." Miranda said in a determined tone. Morinth found it cute how she was still trying to regain control of this conversation. "However I would prefer if you would simply mind your own business."

"I assure you I would prefer that as well." Morinth said, she immediately stood and walked away dismissively. As much fun as that was, staying any longer was just asking for trouble.

Morinth didn't get far before her comm chirped with an incoming message. She tapped on the comm device in her ear before Samara's voice demanded, "Speak."

"Oh, uh, hello Justicar Samara." Kelly's voice answered back.

"What do you need, Miss Chambers." Morinth said.

"Right sorry." Kelly said only slightly flustered, "A transport delivering supplies just arrived in system. They had several items for us which we've received. One of them belonged to you. A package from Thessia."

_Ah, it finally arrived_, Morinth thought to herself, "Very well, I shall make arrangements for pickup."

"Oh, that's ok." Kelly piped up, "You don't need to bother I already took care of that. I was just wondering, if you don't mind, I can take the package to your room." Morinth knew Kelly was trying to get into position to talk to her personally as the ship's therapist. The smart play would be to brush her off, but pushing Kelly away too much would only motivate her to try harder.

"Very well, just be quick about it." Morinth said finally as she headed to her room.

Not long after Kelly was ringing the door chime to her room. Morinth opened the door glaring at the Yeoman with a steely look. Kelly was standing there with a medium sized box under one arm.

"Hello there!" Kelly said cheerfully. Morinth didn't answer, just continued to stare back expectantly.

"Oh sorry, here's your package." Kelly added as she offered the box in her grasp.

"Thank you." Morinth said in a voice containing no gratitude as she grabbed her package from Kelly's arms.

"If you don't mind I had a question." Kelly said politely. Morinth had been expecting this, so she simply glared back at Kelly until she spoke up again. "I couldn't help notice in the shipping manifest; it says this is a Justicar uniform, a black one."

Morinth knew what Kelly was getting at, but in order to play her role properly she simply let Kelly sweat it out in discomfort until she finally spoke up, "What is your question Chambers?"

"Uh... I just wanted to ask you why you needed a new uniform?" Kelly asked finally, "I mean your current one is fine and, well, I guess you didn't strike me as the type to buy something unless you really need it." She really was a perceptive one, Morinth realized.

"I completed my mission and my daughter lies dead." Morinth told her the story she had already developed ahead of time, "A new uniform is customary to mark this transition. The color is more befitting this time of mourning." It was all bullshit of course. Asari don't even wear black to represent mourning. But without any other Asari on board, the crew would simply have to take her word for it. The word of a Justicar as far as they were concerned. All the excuse Morinth needed to explain away her new wardrobe.

"Well I think it's a good thing for you to grieve for your daughter." Kelly said with her psychological expertise. Unfortunate that it was completely misplaced in this case. But at least it showed Morinth that she believed her fiction. "It just seemed strange to me, you know, given the circumstances."

"The Goddess requires a period of mourning, regardless of the nature of the death." Morinth told her, "The Justicar Code demands that I follow the tenets of my faith. As such a new uniform was necessary."

"Right, of course!" Kelly stammered out, clearly a bit embarrassed that she might have said something insensitive. Morinth enjoyed seeing her squirm a little. "I have the utmost respect for your faith and your code. But I know these sorts of events can be traumatizing. And I just wanted say, if you ever want to talk about it..."

"There is nothing to talk about." Morinth interrupted her before she could offer any other therapeutic words, "It was my duty to kill Morinth then, just as it is my duty to mourn her now. I shall continue to do my duty by serving Shepard until this mission is over. The Code leaves no room for discussion." To punctuate her words Morinth cycled the door closed between them, ending the conversation.


	12. The Family

"I can promise you Shepard, it wasn't me." Wrex laughed over the holo link, "If I wanted you that badly I wouldn't have bothered with a breeding request. I'd just go straight to the source."

"Thanks Wrex, that's so romantic of you." Shepard rolled her eyes.

"Romance is a luxury Krogans can't afford these days." Wrex shrugged.

"That's not true." Shepard corrected him, "Look at Charr and his fiance."

"Hmph. Guessing you have something to do with that one?" Wrex asked.

"Not telling. A girl's gotta have some secrets." Shepard winked.

"Ha! If you say so Shepard." Wrex laughed again. "It was good seeing you again, my friend. I miss our little chats."

"I've missed you too Wrex." Shepard smiled.

"Wish I was joining you to help kick the Collector's collective asses." Wrex smiled back, "But I've got an entire race to take care of."

"They're in good hands, Wrex." Shepard told him, "Couldn't think of a better leader for the Krogan people."

"I can say the same thing about Grunt." Wrex replied, "Couldn't have picked a better Battlemaster, or a better family."

"I can honestly say I'm happy to see him join Clan Urdnot." Shepard said with a bit of pride.

"I'm not talking about the clan." Wrex said with a knowing glint in his eye.

"You mean the Normandy?" Shepard sighed, "It's not the same as the old crew Wrex."

"Wasn't talking about the ship either." Wrex added, smiling now.

"Then what the hell are you talking about?" Shepard asked, her brow slightly wrinkled by perplexing thoughts.

"Maybe I'll explain it to you some day. A Krogan's gotta have some secrets, right?" Wrex winked one of his large red eyes, making it impossible for Shepard to resist a giggle.

A notification popped up on her console suddenly placing a hard limit on their conversation. "Looks like we'll be hitting the relay soon, Wrex. It was great talking to you."

"You too." Wrex told her, "I'd say 'be careful', but this is you we're talking about. As far as I'm concerned the Collector's days are numbered."

"Aw that's so sweet." Shepard smiled even as she added sarcastically, "And you say Krogans can't be romantic." She ended the call before Wrex could respond only seconds before she felt the telling shift of a Relay jump.

They were still several hours away to the next Relay jump when Shepard heard the door chime to her cabin go off.

"Come in." Shepard said unlocking the door from her desk.

"Shepard, you wished to speak with me.", Samara's voice rang out as she walked into the cabin.

Shepard looked at her for a moment before reaching for her omni-tool and triggering a hardware lockdown that she had installed herself for just such an occasion.

"You're safe Morinth." Shepard said once the sequence was complete.

"Thank you Shepard." Morinth was speaking as herself once again, "It was getting tiring pretending to be mother for so long." She stretched her arms as if trying to get the aura of her mother's facade off her body. It was not lost on Shepard how much Morinth's actions intentionally emphasized her breasts as they strained against the partial cover of her black uniform.

"Is that why you've decided to update her fashion sense?" Shepard asked as she looked over Morinth's outfit.

"Do you like it?" Morinth grinned as she turned around slowly to show off her new dressings. The new uniform had clear stylistic similarities to Samara's classical Justicar's outfit, but the colors were strikingly different. Unlike the more earthen red tones of her mother, Morinth's outfit was pure black with bright golden accents.

"Not exactly subtle is it?" Shepard said. "Then again I figured you'd grow to like that kind of outfit, with the impossibly plunging neckline and all."

"I admit, it has its advantages." Morinth said still smiling, "Besides, I could only wear mother's old uniform for so long before it started getting weird, even for me. I think we can both agree this is more my style." Shepard didn't respond right away, she simply raised a questioning eyebrow, prompting Morinth to respond. "Don't worry, I already gave the crew a good story to explain the new outfit. It is an authentic Justicar uniform after all, so they have no reason to suspect anything."

"You might be underestimating some of the crew." Shepard said sagely. "Kelly's already mentioned how much you've changed since you got back from Omega."

"I promise you Shepard, my secret is safe." Morinth told her, "I've been doing this for longer then you've been alive. I'll know if my true identity is discovered."

"I guess we'll see." Shepard shrugged, she still thought it would have been better just to tell everyone the truth.

"So what did you want to speak to me abut?" Morinth asked, "I get the feeling you didn't call me up here for a fashion show."

"You're right." Shepard said, "I just had an interesting conversation with Miranda."

"It sounds like she took my advice." Morinth said.

"Yes, though she wouldn't admit she got the idea from you." Shepard added, "That much I gleamed from the mess hall gossip."

"Happy I could help." Morinth smiled as she leaned lazily against the wall.

"Are you really?" Shepard asked suddenly.

"Well I am part of the crew." Morinth said without missing a beat, "Though I admit it was fun to mess with her."

"Uh huh." Shepard deadpanned.

"Consider the alternative." Morinth continued, "I doubt the real Samara would have been nearly as helpful."

"I guess not." Shepard said cautiously, "Particularly since you're coming with us."

"Oh?" Morinth was not expecting that.

"We'll be arriving back on Illium soon." Shepard explained, "We're going to make sure Miranda's sister is safe. Ideally there shouldn't be any trouble. But with my luck I'd rather prepare for the worst."

"Sister huh? That would explain it." Morinth mused, "So what are we protecting her sister from?"

"Her father." Shepard said bluntly. She watched Morinth's reaction before adding, "I figured you'd find that interesting."

"Is that why you want me along?" Morinth asked with an amused expression, "Thinking I might sympathize with the Cerberus lackey?"

"Nope," Shepard shot back, "I want you along because if we run into the worst case scinerio, you're probably the best person to have on our side."

"Is that so?" Morith thought out loud before adding, "So what exactly is the worst case you're expecting?"

"If Miranda's father has tracked down her sister, he'll probably want to hire local help." Shepard said.

"On Illium that means Eclipse." Morinth finished the thought.

"Exactly." Shepard said, "You have the most experience with the Eclipse on Illium. Not to mention I'm sure you know your way around Nos Astra better then anyone else." _At least anyone else on this ship_, Shepard thought quietly to herself trying not to think of Liara. "On top of that you'll be playing the part of a Justicar on an Asari world. I don't need to tell you how useful that would be. If things go to hell I want to bring every advantage with me. Just remember, the top priority is the safety of Miranda's sister and her family." On that Shepard was deadly serious, and the way she stared back at Morinth made that abundantly clear.

"You're testing me." Morinth said after a moment's realization. "Really Shepard, this isn't the first time I've joined you on the ground team."

"The last time we were just mopping up crappy ass mercs from an abandoned military base." Shepard said, "That was not what you'd call a subtle operation. This is different, this mission requires a bit more finesse."

"And you think I'm incapable of finesse?" Morinth tone clearly conveying how inaccurate that idea was.

"I know you're capable, all too well." Shepard explained, "I'm more interested in seeing how you handle this mission."

"Because if things go wrong, I'll have every chance to stab you in the back." Morinth deduced, "You're giving me the perfect opportunity to betray you just to see if I will." A knowing grin spread along her lips.

"It kinda loses a lot of the effectiveness if you figure it out ahead of time." Shepard admitted.

"I don't know, maybe I will sell you out. Just having that possibility should keep things more interesting." Morinth teased mischievously. Though Shepard was pretty certain Morinth was just trying to mess with her, the way the Asari was smiling at her now she could believe that woman would double-cross her just for the fun of it.

"If you do, I recommend you make sure I stay dead." Shepard replied with a deadly intent in her voice.

Morinth's subsequent silence assured her that the Ardat-Yakshi got the message.

.

* * *

.

"Miss Lawson? I'm glad you made it, we've had a complication" The purple skinned Asari spoke up as Miranda approached her in the private room of the Nos Astra bar. Shepard walked up next to her even as Morinth stayed a step behind.

"What happened? Is Oriana alright?" Miranda asked Lanteia. She kept her voice calm but Shepard could tell she was very worried about her sister.

"She's fine, but ... you listed a man named Niket as your trusted source?" Lanteia explained, "He contacted me, warning me that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep." _I knew it_, Shepard thought to herself even as Lanteia continued, "He suggested that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

"You never told me about this Niket." Shepard told Miranda, the look she gave the Cerberus Operative demanded more informaiton.

"He's a friend, he and I go back a long way." Miranda said quickly. Not much of an explanation.

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Miss Lawson?" Lanteia asked.

"No, you and Niket are the only two I trust on this." Miranda insisted.

"I don't like the sound of this Miranda." Shepard interjected, "Are you sure we can trust Niket?"

"Absolutely, he's one of my oldest friends, I trust him with Oriana." Miranda said with certainty.

_I'll just have to trust her as well_, Shepard thought. It was her mission after all.

"Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion." Miranda told the Asari, "Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention. Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood Miss Lawson." Lanteia confirmed.

"So the plan is for us to get shot down by eclipse while your sister gets to safty?" Shepard asked, not entirely convinced about the whole operation.

"Eclipse will be under orders to take my sister alive. They won't risk anything that will kill us." Miranda assured her.

"I doubt eclipse will send all their people just to stop you." Shepard suggested, "Do you want to give Niket any backup?"

"Niket can take care of himself." Miranda said, "Besides any armed backup just draws attention to him."

"Great, so we just need to play bait." Shepard said, she looked back at Morinth as she added knowingly, "Again." She had to hand it to Morinth, didn't even budge an eyelash at her comment.

"Pardon?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing." Shepard told her as she started heading out of the bar, "If we're going to do this we should leave right away before the mercs pick up Oriana's trail."

"Thank you Shepard. I appreciate this." Miranda said after a moment, "I hadn't planned on eclipse. But they never planned on you."

Shepard looked at Miranda and offered a small smile. Then she looked at the demon hidden in the Justicar's skin next to her.

_You have no idea_. She thought to herself.


	13. The Prodigal

Morinth knew things would get interesting the second she saw the Eclipse gunship flying next to them. Even without Miranda stating the obvious. She was hardly surprised when the Eclipse mercenaries started shooting at their air car as they came in for a landing. On the contrary, Morinth was only mildly surprised when the mercs stopped shortly before they touched down.

'Touched down' was perhaps being generous, but at least they were still in one piece after that rough landing.

Shepard and Miranda got out quickly, Morinth took her time getting out of the back seat before following them.

"Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am." Miranda told the apparent Eclipse leader in an authoritative voice. Miranda always had to be in control of the situation.

Morinth turned her attention towards the Eclipse merc Miranda had spoken to, who was now walking towards them with a single guard next to him. He was a human male, which meant he certainly wasn't the one actually calling all the shots on this operation. Morinth knew that on Illium the Asari Eclipse sisters held all the real power.

"Yeah, they said you'd be in the car," The Eclipse lieutenant spoke with misplaced cockiness, "You're the bitch that kidnapped our bosses little girl."

"Kidnapped?!" Miranda exclaimed somewhat offended by the notion, "This doesn't concern you, I suggest you take your men and go." It was a feint, Morinth knew, Miranda never expected them to leave so easily, but was simply trying to stall for time. Well she could certainly help with that part.

"I suggest you heed the woman's advice." Morinth said in her perfect Justicar voice as she walked up next to them, "Interfere and you will be subjected to a Justicar's judgement." Instantly it was clear which of the Eclipse mercs were asari, regardless of their helmets; They were the ones now rattled by the realization that they were facing down a Justicar. Their leader, of course, was human, and therefore completely clueless.

"Think you got it all lined up, huh?" The merc lieutenant replied. "Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you."

_Enyala?_ Morinth thought to herself, _Oh this should be fun_. Enyala was a skilled biotic and one ruthless bitch, but that went without saying among Eclipse leadership. However Enyala was also smarter then she looked, which in Morinth's opinion wasn't saying much. Nevertheless Enyala was not some dumb merc just looking for a paycheck. It was likely she figured out what they were doing. Which meant this group of Eclipse soldiers was simply here to keep them occupied. Morinth thought about saying something but one look at Shepard and she knew the Spectre had already considered that as a possibility.

"Let me be clear." Shepard spoke up suddenly, she was no longer interested in stalling, "You're not getting Miranda's sister. Leave before this goes badly for you." Something about seeing this primal, deadly side to Shepard always made Morinth's spine tingle.

"Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away." A shame that fool of an Eclipse merc was so oblivious to just how dangerous she really was, Morinth would have loved to see him squirm in fear.

"You've got it backwards." Shepard warned him, for all the good that would do, "This is _your_ last chance. Get out of my way or become a corpse at my feet."

"You think you scare me?" The idiot merc continued, completely missing the look Shepard sent Miranda's way. "This whole time we've been talking my men have been lining up shots. When I say the word we unleash hell on your squad. So I suggest you walk away nicely _-urk!_"

His speech was interrupted when Shepard grabbed his arm and spun him around suddenly. The lieutenant was too off balance to stop Shepard from grabbing his head and twisting sharply in an expert maneuver that would have made Thane proud. The man's fancy tech armor proved a useless defense against having his neck snapped, reducing him to a corpse at Shepard's feet just as she had promised.

Miranda didn't hesitate, bringing up her sub-machine gun firing controlled bursts at the other Eclipse guard at the same time Shepard made her move. Caught completely off guard, the other Eclipse merc never stood a chance.

Morinth didn't hesitate either, immediately raising a barrier that made the small arms fired their way by the remaining mercs in the distance completely meaningless. Shepard clearly must have noticed the barrier's strength from the way she so calmly and casually reached for her heavy pistol then aiming it up at the large crane moving the massive fuel barrel behind the line of Eclipse mercs shooting at them. A few shots from her caused a catastrophic failure of the crane's clamping mechanism, dropping the carried barrel resulting in a massive explosion.

The look on the Salarian merc's face as one of his Eclipse comrades flew by him like a rag-doll tossed by the explosion was absolutely priceless.

With the explosion also came the opening they needed, and the three of them moved to capitalize on it right away.

Shepard picked her spot behind cover, calmly pulling out her sniper rifle as she surveyed the battlefield. She only needed the time it took for her rifle to fully deploy before she was picking off her first target. Miranda was moving expertly through the combat zone from cover to cover, picking her shots carefully or unleashing a biotic attack depending on the situation.

As for Morinth, she opted for the more direct route. She strode forward in plain view knowing her barriers would hold against the merc's basic attacks. It was intentional, and not just because she was suposed to be fighting like a Justicar. She knew both Shepard and Miranda would pick off anyone dumb enough to take the bait and attack her.

One of the Eclipse mercs even thought to fire a rocket at her. Morith simply swept the missile aside with the burst of a biotic push, deflecting it away from her and sending the explosive into another group of Eclipse soldiers behind cover. With her other hand Morinth used a sharp biotic pull, ripping the missile launcher from the merc's hands, which also pulled the merc out of cover where Miranda's Warp finished her off.

Still Morinth knew not to press her luck, moving behind one of the larger crates whenever the bullets started wearing her barriers down. She noticed Shepard would make sure to keep her covered while she built up her barriers once again. Morinth would then return the favor by pulling any of the more stubborn Eclipse mercs out from their cover spots where Shepard's rifle would take them out.

Indeed, Morinth was completely impressed just expereincing Shepard fight. No matter where she was, Shepard was always ready to capitalize on her movements. More impressive, Morinth never actually saw the Spectre move. Appropriately, like a ghost she would simply apear in perfect position to take out her current target before disappearing again in preparation for the next kill shot.

It was almost depressing how easily the three of them made it to the cargo bay entrance.

There an electronic filtered voice caught their attention. Miranda walked to the source of the voice picking up a comm unit that had belonged to one of the fallen mercs. She quickly went to work patching into the signal so the three of them could listen in on their enemies communications. By that point Shepard was simply looking at her with a disappointed expectancy.

"You have a question." Miranda confirmed.

"That merc back there called Oriana a little girl." Shepard said strictly, "I doubt he was being poetic. You said she was your twin sister."

"Shepard ..." Miranda began but it was obvious there was no way around this one, "No, you're right, I owe you an explanation." Shepard and Morinth both stayed silent as they waited for Miranda to continue. "Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father ... grew her when I was a teenager." She was speaking much more emphatically as she pleaded her case, "She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let my father do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her."

"Why didn't you tell me we were saving a kid?" Shepard demanded.

"She's not a child," Miranda replied, "She'll be nineteen this year."

"Don't give me that crap." Shepard interrupted her, "I mean why didn't you tell me the truth from the beginning!"

"I ..." Miranda was momentarily at a loss, "It didn't seem relevant at the time, I suppose."

"Not good enough, Lawson." Shepard shot back.

"There are people who'd use her against me Shepard." Miranda frowned, she was determined this time, "I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana."

"I'm not one of them!" Shepard responded, "There's nothing wrong with wanting to protect your baby sister. But we're supposed to be part of the same crew. If you can't trust me, then how the hell do you expect me to trust you?"

Morinth couldn't stop herself from staring at Shepard's words. She knew the Commander was serious about that. She wondered if Shepard felt the same way about her. That was part of the reason she was there, after all, to prove whether she could be trusted. That had never been an option for her before.

"... You're right." Surprisingly Miranda admitted, "I'm sorry I didn't trust you earlier. You deserved to know."

"Alright," Shepard nodded, "So tell me why you took a young child from her father."

"If you knew my father you'd understand." Miranda began pacing as she spoke, showing just how deep her emotions ran on this matter even as she tried to keep a lid on them, "I wasn't the first one he made. I was only the first one he kept. I was brought up with no friends, pushed to meet impossible demands. I wasn't a daughter to him, I was ..." Miranda's emotional shell cracked once more before she looked away and forced herself to regain control. Even then her voice was noticeably sadder as she added, "I don't know what I was." She looked up saying confidently, "Oriana has had a normal life, I made the right decision."

Shepard was quiet for a while before she turned to look back at Morinth. Before the Asari could read anything into it, however, she quickly looked back at Miranda.

"I promise you Oriana will be safe." Shepard spoke as if her words were a universal fact, a bygone conclusion, no matter how many Eclipse mercs there were to the contrary. Morinth was surprised by how much she believed her. Going by the look on her face, Miranda probably felt the same way.

"Let's get moving." Shepard commanded suddenly, "Sounds like your friend Niket might be in some trouble."

Miranda nodded out an agrement before adding, "If they got to Niket somehow this is going to be harder then I planned."

"It's a good thing I came prepared." Shepard said jokingly as she moved forward to the next wave of Eclipse mercs. It was not lost to Morinth that this scenario was pretty much the reason Shepard choose to bring her.

* * *

The Eclipse mercs on the other side of the warehouse weren't much more of a challenge, particularly now that they could listen in on their comms. Which is how they learned Niket was in fact working with them. Not surprisingly Miranda didn't take the news well. She was still in denial as the three of them made their way onto the cargo elevator.

"Maybe the Captain knows we're listening in and she's feeding misinformation about Niket making a switch." Miranda speculated.

"With respect, Miss Lawson." Morinth spoke up while Shepard triggered the lift to take them to Dock 94. "I have fought many of these Eclipse sisters before, and I do not believe that they are capable of such refined duplicity." _Enyala was smart, but she wasn't that smart_.

"Well maybe it means something else." Miranda tried again, "Niket wouldn't do that." Finally her desperation broke as she forcefully hacked the lift controls yelling "Damn it, why won't this thing go any faster!"

"What makes you so sure Niket wouldn't turn on you?" Shepard asked. Morinth could tell that like herself Shepard wasn't convinced of Niket's innocence.

"He could have turned on me when I ran away." Miranda continued her defense, "I'm sure my father tried to buy him off. If he didn't do it then, why would he do it now?"

Shepard answered her question with one of her own, "Did Niket know you took Oriana from your father?"

"No, he just found out about that recently. It was too personal to involve someone else." Midanda said.

"In other words, you didn't trust him with the truth about your sister either." Shepard said.

The realization grew on Miranda's face, "I never really thought about it but maybe ... no." She firmed up her resolve, "He'd have to understand why I did it. He knows what I went through."

"I'm not so sure," Shepard told her, "The message on the radio seemed pretty clear."

"He wouldn't betray me." Miranda insisted, "We'll be at the transport shuttle in a moment, and we'll clear this up."

It didn't take long to clear up the matter, unfortunately for Miranda. The moment they stepped off the elevator the three of them were greeted to the sight of a mousey human going back and forth with two Asari. Morinth had no idea who the first Asari was, probably one of the dock workers about to have a bad day. The other Asari she knew right away. Unlike her, Enyala had done nothing to change her appearance from the last time Morinth had seen her. Though she had never met him, Morinth was fairly certain who the human male was.

"Niket." Miranda said quietly, her face filled with equal parts rage, sadness, and disappointment.

Shepard walked up next to her, her face was all rage under her focused gaze. The Commander really didn't take betrayal well, even when it was not directed at herself.

"Miri!" Niket was not expecting to see her.

"This should be fun." Captain Enyala joked even as she jumped to her feet pulling out her massive shotgun. _Poor Enyala_, Morinth thought, _always trying to over-compensate_.

Shepard and Miranda immediately brought out their own respective guns against the Eclipse captain. Morinth chose to wait it out, priming her own biotics so she could generate a powerful barrier or a devastating attack as needed. All three of them noticed the movement of additional Eclipse mercs behind their Captain, getting ready to join in the fight the moment the action started.

The poor dock worker completely lost her nerve at the impending gunfight and took off running. Enyala simply turned and shot her in the back. The force of the massive shotgun sent the unfortunate asari flying like she'd been hit with a powerful biotic push before her dead body landed unceremoniously on the floor. Morinth was about to jump on the opening, but Shepard held up a hand to stop her. She was confused why Shepard had chosen to waste that opportunity until she noticed the look in Miranda's eye. Miss Lawson had a few things to discuss with Niket first.

"You sold me out." Miranda told him.

"No more civilans around." Shepard commented with the same deadly intent that Morinth loved, "We can end this here and now."

"Not until I get some answers." Miranda demanded, mainly directed at the human in front of them. "Why Niket? You were my friend, you helped me get away from my father."

"Yes, because you wanted to leave." Niket explained passionately, "That was your choice. But if I'd known you'd stolen a baby-"

"I didn't steal her, I rescued her!" Miranda interrupted forcefully.

"Rescued her? She had everything anyone could ask for!" Niket argued, "And you took that away from her."

"Hard to claim the high ground when you're using Eclipse mercs to kidnap her." Shepard said with her eye on Captain Enyala.

"I'm not stealing her, I'm rescuing her." Enyala mimicked Miranda's words, she then turned to the human adding "Come on Niket, let's finish this bitch off and get out of here."

"Take your best shot." Miranda spat at her.

"I was just waiting for you to finish getting dressed," Enyala shot back, "Or does Cerberus really let you whore around in that oufit." Morinth was suddenly very tempted to burst out laughing at comment.

"No one's shooting anyone." Niket pleaded, "I'm here to make sure Oriana is reunited with her father without distressing anyone."

"Distress?" Miranda exclaimed, "What about all the abuse I suffered at my father's hands? You knew what my life was like. The life I'm trying to save Oriana from!"

"From a life of wealth and happiness?" Niket replied, though he lacked the conviction that Miranda had, "You weren't saving her. You were getting back at your father."

"Is that the line Miranda's Father sold you?" Shepard asked him disapprovingly. "What else did he tell you to get you to turn on Miranda?"

"They told me you kidnapped your baby sister all those years ago." Niket explained, "They said I could help get her back peacefully. No trauma to the family. I told them you'd never do that. They could go to hell. Then you finally told me what you'd done. I called them back that night."

"Why didn't you call me Niket?" Miranda pleaded, "We've been through a lot, you could have at least let me explain."

"I deserved to know that you'd stolen your sister, Miri." Niket accused her in turn, "I deserved to know you were with Cerberus, but I had to hear it from your father first." Morinth could sense the wave of guilt that swept over Miranda with the words that mirrored Shepard's earlier comments.

"Bullshit. How much did Miranda's father pay you." Shepard demanded suddenly.

"A great deal." Niket admitted, unable to resist the intense gaze that Shepard leveled at him.

"Dammit Niket!" Miranda shouted, all guilt gone from her face, "You were the only one I trusted from that life."

"He knew you felt that way, that's why he bought me."

"So you just took his money." Miranda chastised him.

"Don't get holy with me Miri. You took his money for years." Niket responded angrily.

"This isn't about the money!" Shepard spoke out, Niket's anger paled compared to hers, "Oriana has been with her family for years now. Why take that away from her?"

"Her father can still give her a better life." Niket explained weakly.

"You should know what my father plans for her is not a better life." Miranda confronted him.

"I know that I've been poor miri. I didn't much care for it." Niket insisted.

"You greedy piece of shit." Shepard said with obvious rage bubbling beneath her skin, then again that could have been the implants flaring up in response, "This isn't about Oriana. This is about getting paid, isn't it? Miranda's father didn't convince you with the truth. He just finally offered you a big enough number to buy your loyalty."

"She's right." Miranda added, risking a glace at her Commander, "Shepard grew up with nothing back on Earth, and she still would never betray me to my father." She looked back up at Niket as she continued, "He wants to take a girl away from the only family she's ever known. Doesn't that tell you what he really is?"

Niket went quiet, clearly cowed by her words.

"Don't waste your breath on him, Miranda." Shepard spat out, "If Niket knows about Oriana then your father does too. Relocating her won't work."

"Miranda's father has no information about Oriana." Niket admitted. Miranda looked at him questioningly, prompting him to explain further, "I knew you had spy programs in you father's system Miri, so I kept it private. I'm the only one who knows."

"Which means that you're the only loose end." Miranda realized the meaning of Niket's words, "This isn't how I wanted it to end Niket, I'm gong to miss you."

Before Miranda could fire a shot, Morinth placed her hand gently but firmly on Miranda's wrist, stopping her from pulling the trigger. Morinth had realized that Miranda would kill Niket, just like she realized Shepard wouldn't stop her, but something else urged her to interfere. What Morinth saw, what Shepard failed to notice, behind Miranda's perfect exterior, was the deep terrible pain she felt at having to kill such an old beloved friend.

"Please, Miss Lawson." Morinth said softly, as gently as she could manage without breaking charater. Miranda looked up at her with a confused expression for only a heartbeat before the 'Justicar' turned towards Niket with her own pistol. "Allow me." Morinth added as she fired her gun. The bullet hit Niket right through his heart. _Fitting_, thought Morinth as she watched the Human fall over dead.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Enyala broke it with a cocky comment, "I was tired of talking anyway."

The Eclipse Captain suddenly found herself trapped in a biotic lift, the source of which was made obvious by the bright purple aura now surrounding Miranda. By the look on her face, the Cerberus Operative was done messing around.

"So Was I." Miranda said in a steely voice just before throwing a biotic bolt that collided with the lifted Captain, sending her flying back into the distant cargo containers.

As one Eclipse mercs started coming out of every entrance in response.

Morinth didn't recall much of the fight. In truth the Eclipse troops were boring her by then with how easily they were defeated. Only Enyala herself proved to be any sort of challenge, and even she succumbed quickly to Shepard's sniper rifle. Enyala's biotics and massive shotgun never had a chance to overcome the Spectre's vastly superior range. That left Miranda and Morinth to deal with any Eclipse that managed to get close. Needless to say they weren't enough of a challenge to be memorable.

When the last merc was left standing, Miranda rushed forward, unloading her submachine gun on full auto against the unfortunate Eclipse soldier even as she kept walking forward.

"That's all of them." Miranda determined as she ejected the expended heat sink of her weapon with a loud hiss. "We should take the elevator to the terminal upstairs to make sure Oriana is safe." It was clear she wasn't making a request. She was already hitting the elevator controls to call the lift down to them.

Shepard, interestingly, bent down to pick something up as she walked towards Miranda. Otherwise the Commander remained silent, only offering Miranda an acknowledging nod before following her into the elevator.

Morinth was about to join them when she heard a rough muted grunt aside from where the others were. A thought formed in her mind.

"You coming Samara?" Shepard asked her insistently from the open elevator.

"Go ahead, Shepard." Morinth replied, "I will double-back and make sure there are no Eclipse troops behind us that might endanger Miss Lawson's sister."

Shepard stared at her, no doubt wondering what her ulterior motive was. She would have objected right then but fortunately Miranda spoke up first, "We need to move Shepard!"

"Alright, meet up at the terminal as soon as you can." Shepard ordered her as she allowed the elevator doors to close between them.

Morinth allowed her predatory smile to spread across her face. There was no need to keep her disguise here anymore. She moved to an opposing side of the warehouse where a simple exit lead to a lonely alley. She looked down to see the trail of purple blood that she was looking for. She inhaled, relishing the sweet scent of death around her, it was always at its sweetest at this moment before any decay could set in.

She followed the blood trail at a calm pace, practically floating on her toes as she glided down the alley with her sultry gait. It didn't take long to find her target. Captain Enyala was in a sad shape to be sure. Multiple gun shots had penetrated her armor which still bore the burn marks from the devastating effects of multiple biotic attacks. Her breathing was hard as she forced herself to crawl forward. As bad as she was, Morinth knew Enyala was tough, and would certainly live if she made it to get medical help.

Too bad for her then.

"Enyala", Morinth purred with her own voice as she strolled up to the Captain.

The Asari mercenary twisted her head around suddenly. The worst of her injuries could be clearly seen as a gruesome wound on her head where one of Shepard's attempted headshots had managed to entirely shoot off one of the Asari merc's fringes. A mask of her blood now flowed over half of her face. Morinth was quite delighted with the way Enyala's eyes opened wide with terror when she recognized her.

"You!" the word shot forth from the Captain's mouth with a mixture of shock and accusation.

"Me." Morinth said with a simple understated joy.

"I thought you were dead." Enyala spoke her disbelief as she tried shuffle away on her back.

"I hear there's a lot of that going around." Morinth joked thinking at some of he reactions Shepard often received from old acquaintances she met.

"You're working for humans now?" Enyala said derivatively.

"My my, Enyala, the way you say that, someone might think you don't like humans." Morinth teased, her eyes floating over the Eclipse merc's broken body like it was a toy to play with. "If it makes you feel better, I'm working _with_ them, not _for_ them."

"Hey, you can do whatever makes you happy, right?" Enyala conceded, she probably came to the conclusion that the best way to stay alive was to keep Morinth happy, "I'm just saying, they don't seem like your type."

"So you think you know my type now?" Morinth said with subtle patronization.

"I know you like danger, and power, and the sort of things that cost a shit ton of credits." Enyala tried to smile as much as she could in her condition. "Just so happens you can have all that with Eclipse."

"Really Eny, begging for your life already?" Morinth shook her head slowly in blatantly faked disappointment.

"Hey, I know where I stand." Enyala said submissively, "You always did get what you want one way or another. Not dumb enough to get in your way."

"You always were a smart one, Enyala." Morinth laughed softly as she leaned down next to her prey, "So tell me, just what is it you think you can provide me that I would want."

"Just name it." Enyala offered desperately, "We got ships, we got people. You can have a different girl every night. Swimming in Hallex and Alcohol. It's a big galaxy out there, and with Eclipse behind you no one could stop you."

"Hmm. Tempting." Morinth's bored tone showed that she was clearly not sufficiently tempted by the offer. "But unfortunately that's the wrong answer."

"Then just tell me what you want, I'll make it happen for you." Enyala begged.

"I want your backup." Morinth said with simple confidence.

"W- what?" Enyala managed to mumble out.

"Don't play dumb with me now." Morinth told her, the subtle shift in her tone suddenly gave off an incredibly threatening presence, "You had people everywhere covering the cargo area; waiting in the wings when the fighting began. You don't really expect me to believe you didn't have a couple of girls held back in case everything went to shit. Well everything's gone to shit, so whoever they are, I bet they're getting ready to execute whatever backup plan you had cooked up." She turned her menacing gaze directly into Enyala's eyes, "I want them, Eny, I want to know where they are and what they're up to." She intentionally paused to let her words sink in before adding the final command. "Now."

"Sniper team. Just two of them. Former Commandos." Enyala admitted through heavy breathes, she knew she didn't have any options left.

"Go on." Morinth's calm voice demanded.

"They're at the top level, should have a sniper post setup covering the lift exit." Enyala offered, "They have instructions to kill the humans the second they step off the elevator."

"See that wasn't so hard was it?" Morinth said patronizingly, "Now how about that nav point?"

Morinth knew that, unlike Shepard, Enyala had no problem sacrificing her subordinates to save her own hide. Enyala struggled for a moment as she reached for her omni-tool, it didn't take long for her to transfer the data over. "There. All yours. What ever you want. Just let me go."

"Oh Eny" Morinth smiled mischievously down at her prey, "You didn't really think I'd do that, did you?"

"Come on, that's the deal right?" Enyala pleaded pathetically, "Let me live and I'll give you whatever you want."

"That was your mistake." Morinth said almost philosophically, her head tilted slightly as she looked down thoughtfully at the Eclipse captain. "So desperate that you're willing to give me whatever I want. What's the fun in that? I prefer to earn my plunder, to hunt down my prey, go for the kill when they least expect it. I take what I want, I don't need it handed to me." Morinth tilted her head down with a facade of disapproval, "You know my mother once offered to give me anything I could ever want too. Of course, all I had to do was live where she wanted me to, act how she wanted me to. Now she's dead." Her words were so casual as to be terrifying under the circumstances, "I didn't accept the offer then, why would I do it now?" She shook her head before looking back with unusual determination, "I'm part of Shepard's crew now. There's nothing you could ever offer me that's better then that."

Morinth moved down to her knees before crawling forward like a playful cat towards her next meal. "Sorry Enyala, the galaxy thinks I'm dead, I'd prefer to keep it that way." She moved between the fallen captains legs, almost seductively if not for her murderous intent, until she was completely on top of the other Asari. She straddled Enyala's body with her legs, putting her face only inches from the merc's own.

"No Please" Enyala could only beg pitifully now. The Ardat-Yakshi's mere presence was overpowering now, making it impossible for her to move even as she wanted desperately to escape.

"Oh don't be scared," Morinth cooed seductively as her eyes turned completely black. Morinth reached one hand all too gently behind the soon to be former captain's crest, pulling her head even closer, "I promise you this will be the most pleasurable experience you can possibly imagine."

Morinth pushed forward with her lips, pressing them tightly against Enyala's own, passionately taking her in even as she reached out forcefully with her mind. Enyala tried to scream as the intrusive meld sent waves of unimaginable pain through her entire overloaded nervous system, but her voice was trapped by Morinth's mouth. Enyala tried to reach out desperately with her broken limbs, barely aware of how they spasmed violently in response to the Ardat-Yakshi's attack. Morinth savored the sensation of her power flowing through the other Asari as it devoured her mind, body, and soul. Morinth didn't stop until there was nothing left in the body of her prey, which had already stopped moving by then.

Only then did Morinth let go and moved to stand over the remains of the former Captain. She licked her lips tasting the sweet flavor of the merc's blood left there from her intense contact. With a smile she added out loud, "Well, for me anyway."

She took a step before, as an after thought, she pulled out her pistol, shooting Enyala's corpse through the emptied skull. Shepard had been so kind to provide the perfect cover to hide her kills, it seemed rude not to take advantage of it. Holstering her gun, Morinth looked at the Nav point she had received from Enyala. The Commandos were setup fairly high above her current position. She had a lot of ground to cover if she wanted to reach them before Shepard and Miranda got off the elevator. Fortunately the elevators were slow, and such a height was easily surmountable by a powerful enough biotic. Easier still now that Morinth felt so ... invigorated.

With a series of powerful biotic bursts, Morinth rocketed herself up the side of the tall building next to her.

* * *

It was some time later before Morinth walked out onto the public transport terminal. She recalled how she had seen her mother walking across this very terminal not that long ago. Now she was doing much the same thing while pretending to be her. Strange how much things had changed since then. For the better, Morinth had to admit.

She noticed Shepard and Miranda up ahead, Morinth followed their stares to a human family waiting for their transport. They had a young woman among them, there was an noticeable similarity to Miranda. This was her sister, Morinth realized, and she was safe. Morinth was a bit surprised with how satisfying that realization was to her. Looking back she saw Miranda turn to leave, the clear weight of her sadness pressing down on her. Until Shepard grabbed her arm, trying to convince her of something. Miranda tried to counter the argument, but it was obvious Shepard was not going to let her off on this one.

She managed to convince Miranda to speek to her own sister just as Morinth was walking up to Shepard. The Spectre watched Miranda walk up to her Sister's family nervously; the Commander had a satisfied smile on her face.

The smile disappeared once Shepard turned to look at Morinth. The Asari was confused for a brief moment wondering what would make Shepard's mood turn sour so quickly until Morinth realized Shepard was specifically staring at her chin. Morinth casually rubbed the back of her glove against her chin and came away with some of Enyala's remaining blood that she had missed earlier. Rather then try to explain the blood away, Morinth simply gave the Commander a sly smile.

"I don't wanna know right now." Shepard spoke up finally, "Come on, let's leave Miranda with her sister."

Shepard began walking quickly back towards the Normandy. Before joining the Commander, Morinth took one last look up at the roof of the building across from them, where a sniper's perch had been setup by the two Eclipse Commandos she had encountered there. It was a great hiding spot, Morinth would have had trouble finding it so quickly without the intel she retrieved from Enyala. She wondered amused how long it would take for anyone to find the two Asari bodies that now lay there.


	14. The Assassin

It was a week later, and Morinth found herself sitting in the dark corner of her room bored out of her mind. Shepard had been taking a tour of the Terminus Systems, winding up in some remote uncharted planet in the Rosetta Nebula. Something about finding Jacob's father. Morinth had found Jacob himself to be incredibly dull by her standards so she wasn't particularly interested in whatever paternal issues he was going through.

Lost in thought, however, the situation did eventually lead Morinth to start thinking about her own father. She had abandoned her just like Samara did when Morinth's condition was first discovered. At least Jacob's father had an excuse, having been marooned on this planet the whole time.

She quickly forced herself to stop thinking about that topic. The past was over and done with, it was pointless wallow in it. Clearly she would need to find something to entertain her mood and stimulate her mind. It was time to take a quick walk. After a moment to prepare herself, Morinth walked out of her room and up to the central elevator. The mess hall wouldn't do right now. She was getting bored of it, and she wasn't particularly hungry either. Instead she opted to go up to the CIC level. It was probably a bit unusual but then Morinth had laid enough groundwork now that it didn't seem terribly out of place to the rest of the crew to have her walking among them.

The level was fairly empty and quiet at the moment. Not surprising now that the Commander was planet side. The hum of several monitoring stations processing data accompanied the real time simulation of the Normandy's systems that filled the center of the CIC. Morinth didn't see anything that interested her thus far, just a sparse population of boring crew members sitting obediently at their stations. In addition both Mordin and Jacob had joined Shepard on the ground team. While the latter was there for his father, the former had joined them at the Commander's request to deal with any potential medical issues with any survivors.

Given all this Morinth decided to head to the cockpit where the ship's comedic pilot was certain to be. Even if he wasn't, Morinth knew she would do well to move quickly before...

"Samara!" Alas too late. Kelly Chambers had set her sights on the Asari and was walking towards her. Non-pulsed, Morinth simply looked back at Kelly with a facade-appropriate disapproving glance. She had expected the therapist would approach if the opportunity presented itself, after all.

"Hey, sorry, I hope I'm not bothering you." Kelly smiled trying to play off the Asari's glare. "I'm a bit surprised to see you up here is all. Anything I can help you with?" The words were polite, but deeply inquisitive as usual.

"No," Morinth responded, "I will be fine by myself." The sternness in her voice left no room for argument, which allowed Morinth to walk past Kelly without further discussion.

With that hurdle past, Morinth quickly reached the ship's flight cabin. Sure enough, Joker the pilot was at his station as always.

"Hey, Samara, how's it going?", Joker spoke up as Morinth approached, "Lemme guess, got tired of staring out into space?"

Morinth began to think of an appropriate answer. It was unlikely that the real Samara would have ever tired of meditating in front of the same star filled view for hours on end, and would simply force herself to continue her meditations even if she did.

But then Morinth realized that a Justicar like her mother wouldn't feel compelled to answer the human's question, so she simply deflected with her own, "Does my presence bother you?"

"Not really, I mean, I guess it's no big deal right now." Joker shrugged, but to Morinth it was clear the human was uncomfortable with her presence. "Just promise me you won't try to flay me alive with your mind if I look at you funny."

That would be just like mother, Morinth thought, however she also realized there was probably a bit more to it then that. Given how hard Joker was working at not staring at her chest, Morinth already had a few guesses as to what that might be.

Oh yes, she would have a little fun with this one.

"I would only flay you alive if your actions required it as the code dictates. Thus far nothing you have done has necessitated such an action on my part." She paused - her steely eyes boring into the pilot - as if considering potential offenses to punish, all the while watching Joker squirm slightly at her words, "I am accustomed to people staring at me - Justicars typically demand such consideration - though I am unsure why that would be 'funny' in this case."

"Yeah I can see why you'd demand such consideration." Joker said sarcastically under his breathe. Of course Morinth wasn't about to let that opportunity pass her by.

"Oh? Please elaborate." She leaned forward slightly, as though simply trying to engage the pilot in the conversation. Though it had the same effect of sticking out her breasts a bit more, taking full advantage of the wide open nature of her Justicar outfit. "I would be curious what you as a human would find so captivating about Justcars."

"Oh ... well ... I..." Joker couldn't even look directly at her for fear of staring right at her chest. No doubt in his mind Joker feared that his lewd stares alone would be enough to ensure a swift death at her hands. "I'm just saying, from what I've heard, you know from Shepard and stuff, that Justicars are pretty powerful, and ... um ... Justice-y and all that."

"Justice what?" Morith asked, adding a slight hint of insult into her tone just to see what Joker's reaction would be.

"It's just a phrase!" Joker quickly explained, "It means you're filled with a strong sense of justice."

"I see." Morith said, resisting the urge to smile. She was about to continue her fun and games when, surprisingly, the ship's AI avatar suddenly appeared next to them.

"If you are concerned regarding any retaliation on Samara's part, Joker." EDI spoke up, "I am certain that her Oath to Shepard would prevent her from taking any action against you. Besides it would be in the Justicar's best interest to keep the Ship's pilot alive, particularly when we are currently very far away from reasonable port of call."

"You have an unusually harsh way of making me feel better you know that?" Joker mumbled sarcastically.

The rest of the conversation was cut short by a sharp notification that appeared on Joker's console.

"Hey looks like the gang's coming back home finally." Joker mentioned, switching off the alert icon on his panel. "Shuttle's coming in now."

Joker made a determined effort of focusing entirely too much on the shuttle's docking procedures in an attempt to avoid what he clearly felt was more awkward and potentially lethal conversation. Morinth thought about teasing him further but decided against it for now. She simply nodded and walked away in her mother's classical stoic manner.

Besides the actions of the AI had surprised her. Part of that was unavoidable, it was impossible for her to read the intentions of what amounted to a sentient ball of blue light as easily as she could read the more organic crew members. Still she could have sworn that EDI's words had been directed at her, almost like a warning. If Morinth didn't know better, she'd imagine the AI was acting in Joker's defense, not unlike a jealous girlfriend might react.

Morinth dismissed the silly notion for the time being as she made her way back to the elevator. As luck would have it, before the Asari could reach the console, the elevator doors opened.

Mordin walked out immediately. He seemed eager as always to return to his lab to occupy himself with whatever recent scientific experiment came to mind. Jacob came out next, clearly in a bad mood. Whatever happened on the planet below regarding his father certainly had a frusterating effect on the Cerberus soldier. But as Morinth continued to observe him, it became clear to her that Jacob was more angered by the fact that the events planetside had bothered him so much rather then the events themselves. He too soon made his way to his station in the Armory no doubt in an attempt to take his mind off what had happened.

Then there was Shepard. She didn't step out like the others. The commander was still in her armor and no doubt would want to return to her cabin to change into a more casual outfit. But there was something else, Morinth sensed. Shepard refused to look at anyone and held a subtle scowl on her face that betrayed her anger at whatever the ground team had discovered down below. No more then that, Morinth realized a moment later, Shepard was refusing to look at HER more so then anyone else. Rather then being insulted, Morinth found her curiosity stoked even further.

The elevator closed then and Shepard was no longer before her. Morinth would have loved to speak with the Commander about this, but for now she would head to her quarters. It would not do her cover any favors to have a proper Justicar showing too much interest in some human's problems.

When she stepped foot on the Crew level Morinth ran into a pleasant surprise in the form of the assassin, Thane, apperently just making his way to his quarters in the life support maintenance room. It was an irony that Morinth found endlessly amusing.

"Justicar." Thane said in his soft tone, suddenly interrupting Morinth's thoughts. He bowed his head slightly in respect as he greeted her.

"Thane," Morinth responded accordingly with a slight bow of her own, as expected of a Justicar, "If you are seeking Shepard, she's just returned from the mission below." It was child's play for Morinth to notice the subtle wave of attraction that had developed between the Drell and the Human, just as she had quickly realized that nothing would come of it. "However I feel now would not be the best time to speak with her."

Thane took a moment to quietly contemplate her words, "Actually I was just returning from my evening meal. However I appreciate the news." After a beat he added, "If you do not mind me asking, why do you think it is not a good time to speak with her?"

"She has only just returned," Morinth explained, "Shepard no doubt wishes to relieve herself of her armor and take a shower before speaking with anyone."

"I see." Thane nodded slightly, "But I get the sense you feel there is more to it."

"Indeed." Morinth admitted. Thane always was a challenge, the Drell assassin was always far more perceptive then most people would realize, "I cannot say for certain, but I did see her in the elevator just before she headed up to her cabin. It seemed to me that something about the mission had troubled her greatly. Considering all the nightmares we have encountered - most of which Shepard would simply scoff at - it is rare indeed for something to upset her so."

"If the Commander is upset, as you say, then someone should console her." Thane mentioned, "It is ... the right thing to do, considering how willing the Commander is at listening to our own problems."

Immediately Morinth recognized a thousand different possibilities to take advantage of the situation. Both with Thane and Shepard herself. But alas, all of them would require her to act in a way that would go completely against the behavior expected of her mother. No, she would have to keep those thoughts locked away for now, and respond as her mother would.

"The right thing to do?" Morinth stated, "Those are not words I would normally associate with an Assassin for hire." If the Drell had been insulted by her harsh words, he showed no signs of it.

"Assassin, yes, but no longer for hire." Thane explained, "I have limited time before me, and I am committed to using that time to change myself for the better; perhaps even the galaxy as well. That is why I volunteered for this mission. Free of charge."

"While I can commend your purpose, I must question your perspective." Morinth replied, "It would be extremely unlikely for someone who has known only death to simply change for the better. In my experience, that does not happen."

"I understand." Thane said with a simple confidence, "For someone like you, who benefits from a long lifespan - and spends most of it in the company of evil men - it would be a truly rare thing to experience such a person change for the better. I suspect by the time these men encounter you, they have no such opportunity left before them." He turned to look at Morinth directly as he added, "But your circumstances also make it easy for you to miss the exceptions, the rare cases where such a person manages to beat all the odds stacked against them. I am determined to become one such rare case."

The conviction in the Drell's words struck a cord in Morinth, and she found herself uncharacteristically at a loss for words for that moment. Eventually she managed to find her voice; or at least her mother's.

"I admit you have a valid point." Morinth said, "Asari are slow to change, and a Justicar does not have the luxury to offer second chances. Perhaps then you shall prove me wrong, and to that end I wish you luck."

"Thank you." Thane responded. He seemed somewhat lost in thought as he added, "Though I don't believe this is a journey I take alone. I have been blessed by Kalahira to be in the company of a guide to aspire to."

"A guide, is it?" Morinth said curiously, "Someone on the ship perhaps?" It took considerable effort on her part not to smirk teasingly at the comment.

Thane seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts he was focusing on when he spoke, "This is perhaps something you should discover on your own. I have enjoyed our talk, but if you will excuse me, I must return to my meditations." Quickly the Assassin began walking away from Morinth without waiting for a response.

"Of course," Morinth replied anyway as she watched the Drell leave. As much as she hated to admit it, his words had given her much to think about as well.

"One more thing." Thane spoke up suddenly, "I meant what I said earlier. The Commander deserves someone who will listen to her. And whatever else you might be, Justicar, you are a good listener."

By the time Morinth looked up, Thane had already disappeared into his room.

* * *

_**A/N: I bet you guys thought I had abandoned you. Not yet, I assure you, but life always finds a way ... to get in the way sometimes. I have plenty more in mind and in the works. So long as you guys keep enjoying my work, I'll keep working on it as much as obligations allow. :)**_


	15. The Past

Shepard really wanted to be alone, and she made sure to keep telling herself that. She wanted to just sit in her chair, listen to her music, and drink what the Salarian on Illium had claimed to be Asari Rum. All in the company of her fish and friendly space hamster.

She suspected the Salarian had lied, but the spirit tasted well enough. More importantly the high alcohol content was having the desired effect. Sadly due to her recent resurrection and subsequent upgrades, the drink wasn't having nearly enough of the effect that she would have liked under the circumstances. Part of her thought to commend Miranda on the efficiency of her cybernetic upgrades when it came to filtering toxins. Most of her wanted wanted to yell at the Cerberus queen for making it so hard for her to get a buzz on.

A chime suddenly alerted her that someone was outside her cabin. Odd, seeing as she wasn't expecting visitors. With a quick swipe of her hand she paused the music before moving to the cabin entrance. As the door slid open she saw the very essence of the Justicar Samara staring back disapprovingly at her. Morinth had been getting better at playing her role with all her recent practice.

_Great_, thought Shepard, _The one person I did not want to see right now_. Despite her thoughts Shepard said nothing. She simply heaved a heavy sigh and walked back into her cabin, leaving the door open to allow Morinth to follow.

She waited until the Asari was inside her cabin with the door closed behind her before activating the counter-surveillance programs on her omni tool. Once the room was secured Shepard picked up her glass and took a drink as she regarded Morinth.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" The Commander said dryly.

"I suspect the pleasure is all mine." Morinth said casually in her own voice, her mother's skin had been completely discarded, "This is probably the only place on the ship where I can be myself."

"You can't do that in your own quarters?" Shepard insisted.

"I can be alone and quiet in my quarters." Morinth explained, "That's not the same thing. I'm a social animal, Shepard, I thrive off the interactions of others."

"And here I thought you thrive off killing people with sex." Shepard said crudely.

"Scared of my advances, Shepard?" Morinth replied, completely unfazed by the harsh words. "Allow me to put those fears to rest. I have no intention of seducing you."

"Not yet." Shepard corrected, "I doubt you'd try something now. However you can hardly blame me for being cautious."

"No, I suppose I can't." Morinth smiled, "But right now, all I want to do is talk with you, nothing more." Her face softened slightly as she added with a sing-song of her voice, "Is now a bad time?"

Shepard wanted to say that it was indeed a bad time, but she couldn't think of a single valid reason why she couldn't talk with Morinth now. She could think of a million stupid, selfish reasons, but she would then have to admit she was being stupid and selfish. Whatever else the Ardat-Yakshi was, she was part of the ground team and at the very least earned the right to speak with her.

With a soft non-comital grunt Shepard began to walk down to the couch, tilting her head slightly indicating to Morinth to join her. She had a feeling this would not be a simple discussion.

"Alright, let's talk." Shepard said as she sat on her favorite spot on the couch across from the bed. With a wave from her omni-tool she activated the audio system filling her room once again with music.

Morinth immediately stopped at the edge of the couch as she listened intently to the music, "What is this? Did your music files get corrupted?"

"The files are fine, Morinth." Shepard corrected her, "This is what we humans call Classic Rock."

"What does this have to do with sculptures?" Morinth asked.

"I'm not talking about old statues here," Shepard explained, "Rock is short for Rock and Roll, it's a unique genre of music from Earth. Unless you were born there, well, it's a bit of an acquired taste." Shepard leaned back as she listened to the electric riffs of the guitar in the background. "The best stuff is from before the turn of the millenium, the Classic stuff. The music after that never seems to have quite the same soul."

"I can honestly say I've never heard anything quite like this." Morinth said as she tilted her head back, closing her eyes slightly.

"Back then humans didn't have the luxury of using bio-emotive inducers." Shepard smirked, "They had to convey the passion and emotion in their songs using just their voice, the beat, and the almighty electric guitar."

"And humans actually listened to this on a regular basis?" Morinth said as she walked over to the opposite side of the couch.

"If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave." Shepard told her.

"On the contrary, I like quite a lot actually." Morinth said with a smile as she sat down. "It does sound so typically human in many ways, and yet it does amazing things with the melody. It actually sounds like that instrument is crying." Barely a moment later the song began to simmer down, and soon a new song began to play. "Ooh, this is one is different. Clearly the same style of music and yet very unique in its own way. What is this one called?"

"This just so happens to be Bob Seger, the original rendition of 'Turn the Page'." Shepard told her. After a moment the Commander turned to stare the Asari down and added, "You didn't come in here to discuss my taste in music. So why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

Morinth was silent for a moment apparently enjoying the somber tune, her eyes closed, her head ever so slightly nodding to the slow beat reaching her ears. Eventually she spoke up, "Truth be told I just had an interesting conversation with Thane. He's really striving so hard for redemption. Trying to become a better person despite his criminal background. He sees you as a sort of guide, you know."

Shepard considered the Asari's words before responding, "This has to do with my past doesn't it? Did you read my file too? It's not exactly a secret you know."

Morinth turned to look at Shepard with an amused look on her face. "Actually I don't. I'm not interested in reading your file. Reading you in person is much more informative. But now that you mention it I'm curious about your history. Do you also have some heart felt story about the struggle to change, to become a better woman, to leave your dark past behind?"

"It's nothing nearly so dramatic as that." Shepard rolled her eyes, "I used to run with some rough gangs, but I didn't have many options back then. I have no regrets, though. I did what I had to to survive. But I never changed, not really. The Alliance simply gave me an opportunity and I took it."

"I like that about you, Shepard," Morinth said, "You live your life without regrets."

"I just do what I think is right." Shepard shrugged, "And to hell with anything else."

"Is that why you picked me?" Morinth asked suddenly. "Because it was what you thought was right?"

"I didn't pick you." Shepard said, "You volunteered, remember."

"I mean before that." Morinth continued, "You had me in your sights back then when I was fighting Samara. You had a choice between me and her."

"And I chose neither of you." Shepard added.

"Under the circumstances, that's no different then picking me." Morinth looked at Shepard, appraising her, "You knew didn't you."

"That you were more powerful? Yes, I did." Shepard said simply.

"You saw that did you?" it wasn't a question.

"I saw you the way you fought against her. Samara would have called it undisciplined, but it wasn't, not at all." Shepard explained, "You were generating and maintaining two completely different mass effect fields at once without any real effort. All while still keeping up your own barriers. I may not be a biotic, but I've had to take down enough biotic enemies to know that's something most would consider impossible." Taking a sip from her glass she then added, "Also you fought to a stand still despite being effectively ambushed. Samara had plenty of time to get ready for the fight. She was already primed by the time she came into your apartment. Even after being effectively sucker punched you still didn't let her get the upper hand. Samara had you beat on experience by a long shot, but when it came to pure biotic skill, it wasn't even a contest."

"So you knew I was holding back when she and I were at a standoff." Morinth spoke up.

"I suspected as much, yeah." Shepard confirmed. "I'd like to think you were having doubts about killing your own mother. But I'm pretty sure you were just waiting to see what I would do."

"The latter I'm afraid." Morinth admitted, "I knew you weren't a biotic, but I figured it was only a matter of time before you tried something. I didn't expect you to have a gun, though, one shot and I would be dead now."

"You still refused to back down." Shepard recalled, "You know Zaeed once told me that there's only two kinds of people that don't buckle when they have a gun in their face: psychopaths and trained killers. Most people can't tell the difference between them." She looked poignantly at Morinth before adding, "No offense but I think it's clear which category you belong to."

"Fair enough," Morinth laughed, "And since I know you're not the type to back down either, I guess that puts you in the trained killer category." After a beat she continued, "But you're avoid the subject. You must have known by not shooting me there and then you were effectively choosing a side. Without your assistance Samara was as good as dead."

"That was all her doing." Shepard said. "She's the one who picked a fight with you, not the other way around."

"Yet you betrayed her." Morinth said.

"No, I didn't." Shepard said, deadly serious, "I did what I promised. She betrayed me; tried to kill me just because I refused to go along with her bullshit."

"You're right." Morinth accepted, this was not something Shepard would budge on, "But you still haven't explained your decision. You still haven't told me why you chose me."

"Why is this so important to you?" Shepard asked.

"I suppose it's not." Morinth began, "I'll take what I can get."

"But?" Shepard prodded, clearly there was more to it.

"But." Morinth began imitating Shepard, "Things are different now. I'm part of a crew, this is all new to me. I'm surrounded by people that I don't have to worry about trying to kill me or vice versa. I think I'm starting to like it."

"What does any of this have to do with your question?" Shepard asked suspiciously.

Morinth was silent, looking away thoughtfully. Shepard forced herself to wonder if this was all part of Morinth's act. If it was she was doing a damn good job, enough so that Shepard had to consider the posibility that Morinth was being genuine right now.

"A few days ago, I spoke with Mordin about what happened on Tuchanka." Morinth began, "Surprisingly easy to get him talking, surprisingly difficult to get him to admit his true feelings." The Asari paused for a moment, lending weight to her next words, "He lied by the way, he might have dealt with it, but it still haunts him. He regrets his work, even as he defends it. Just like he regrets killing his pupil, but he had to do it."

"Someone else might have gotten it wrong." Shepard repeated Mordin's words.

"Did you know?" Morinth said, with an amused expression.

"I suspected," Shepard responded, "It's part of why I convinced him to keep the research. That and I really do hope he finds a Genophage cure some day."

"It's interesting." Morinth started again with a thoughtful gesture, "Like Samara you helped him find someone he felt responsible for. I'm sure Mealon probably saw him as somewhat of a father figure too. But unlike me, you choose to let him kill his pupil. Given that choice you sided with him instead."

"Mordin and Samara were nothing alike." Shepard injected.

"But there was more to why you refused my mother." Morinth vollied back expertly. "I may not have been with you for very long, but I know you're ridiculously loyal to your friends and crewmembers. You were willing to stick with Mordin regardless of his choices, even though you disagree with his Genophage research. Even when he went so far as to kill Mealon."

"I have no love lost for Mealon," Shepard insisted, "If anything, given his horrific experiments I'm glad he's dead." She leaned back as she added, "And Samara was never really part of the crew. She made that very clear from the start. So I didn't feel any obligation to stick by her choices. If that's what you were asking."

"I have no doubt your points are valid, but I'm talking about a much more personal reason." Morinth said calmly.

"Are you trying to get into my head now?" Shepard said flippantly, "I think we already have enough shrinks on board."

Morinth shook her head gently, "I'm just curious. You're different then anyone I've ever met. I'm not trying to play you, Shepard, I'm being completely honest. You're the first person I have ever known in my life who knows exactly what I am but still treats me like a person and not some monster or goddess." She smiled softly as she continued, "That is what I really meant when I talk about you choosing me over my mother. You're willing to accept me as part of the crew. But not Samara, why is that?"

Shepard just studied Morinth for a long time. She had to question if the killer next to her was trying to play her. Strangely, Shepard felt fairly certain Morinth was being honest with her, but that didn't mean the Adrat-Yakshi was just using this as a way to get her to lower her guard so she could go in for the kill.

She was right, however, Shepard considered Morinth more a part of the crew then Samara ever was. Enough that she felt compelled to tell her why.

"Samara was your mother." Shepard admitted finally.

"I'm aware of that." Morith said with a slight frown.

"Exactly. As much as you hate her, you still accept the fact that she was your mother." Shepard explained, "Samara could never admit you were her daughter. Right up till the end. You may have hated her, but you had every reason to. Samara was ashamed of you, thought you were a mistake, blamed you for everything. But in the end, she abandoned you."

Morinth stayed silent with a pained expression on her face as she listened to Shepard. A cynical part of Shepard's mind wondered if she was putting on a show for her. She guessed it didn't matter by that point.

"You wanted to know about my past? Let me tell you." Shepard continued, "I grew up on Earth. Not the bright lights and shiny buildings you see in the vids. But down in the harsh and dirty streets that everyone likes to pretend don't exist. I never had a family; no parents, no sisters. I was alone with whatever fucked up fosters the state decided to put me with. I learned pretty quickly that I had to take control of my life, before someone else did. So I ran away, lived on the streets. I found my own family. First with the Reds, then with the Alliance. And even after everything I've been through, I wouldn't trade that in for anything."

"You had to strike out on your own at a young age just to survive." Morinth said. The similarities were obvious, she didn't need to state them.

"Don't try to pretend this makes us kindred spirits or anything." Shepard told her.

"I don't need to pretend." Morinth countered, "You said it yourself, both of our parents abanddoned us."

Shepard merely glared at Morinth for a moment before speaking, "In that case, tell me; In all the time you've been on the run for the past 400 years, did you ever, just once, wish that things had been different? Did you ever dream that your mother was willing to just love you for who you are, not what you are? Did you ever wish your father hadn't left you and your sisters to your mother's rage, that she would have had the courage to stand up to Samara rather then just run away?"

There as the unconcious twitch in Morinth's eyes, and the slight discoleration of her lower eyelids. Evidence enough to Shepard that she had hit the nail on the head. Morinth must have realized this too.

"How did you know about my father?" The Asari asked calmly.

"I didn't." Shepard said, "I just found it odd how careful Samara was not to mention her. From there it was just guesswork. And you still havn't answered my question."

"What you're describing was nothing more then a childish fantasy." Morinth replied, "The reality was never going to be like that." She paused briefly as if realizing something important, "Something else we share then?"

Shepard just nodded slightly, "I'll admit, despite everything, a small part of me still wished I could have had real parents growing up. I figured even shitty parents would have been better then no parents at all."

"You mean like Jacob's father." Morinth added, the look on her face was clearly connecting the dots. The Ardat-Yakshi was too damn clever, and too damn observant, Shepard decided.

"Yeah, like Jacob's father." Shepard shot back, "He was a perverted, degenerate, narssasistic asshole, but even he had the good sense to show Jacob a better way. In the end he had the balls to own up to his mistakes. As fucked up as things turned out, Jacob's a better person because of his father. And he knows it."

"But my mother however ..." Morinth trailed off.

Shepard shook her head, "When I was standing next to her in the observation room, when I found out who you really were, and why she wanted to kill you. That was the first time in my life I ever thought to myself that I might have been better off without a mother."

"No wonder you hated her so much." Morinth commented.

"Mostly I'm just pissed off that I let her get to me." Shepard added, "I never even met my parents. Hell between Torfan and the Citadel, they had every opportunity to find me. I've long since dealt with the fact they're not a part of my life, and at this point it doesn't even matter why."

"Which explains why you are so loyal to your crew." Morinth mused, "I believe it was an old Krogan I used to know who told me that one was always better off with the family they chose rather then the one they are born with. They actually have a name for that."

"Krantt," Shepard provided, "Humans just call it making friends."

"Friends?" Morinth said, she seemed almost caught off guard by the word.

"I assume you're familiar with the concept." Shepard teased her.

"I've had hundreds of friends in my past, Shepard." Morinth smirked.

"I'm not talking about the idiots you manipulate into doing your favors" Shepard said, "Or the shallow acquaintances you sip wine with at a fancy party. I'm talking about real friends, someone you can trust with both your life and your darkest secrets. Someone who's there in the best and the worst of times. For no other reason beyond your mutual friendship."

"You know, you and I have been in plenty of life and death fights already." Morinth said with an intrigued tone, "And you already know my dirty little secret. Does that make us friends?"

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself." Shepard told her, "There's still a lot of trust we need to build on both sides."

"But you're still not opposed to the idea." Morinth smiled, "Most people would consider friendship with a full blown Ardat-Yakshi to be flat out impossible."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've done the impossible." Shepard joked, "With everything that's happened to me I can't consider being a psychotic sex vampire serial killer reason alone not to be friends with someone. Being a psychotic sex vampire serial killer who wants to mind rape me to death, however, will put a huge damper on any potential friendship."

Morinth simply let out a laugh in response. "I'll take that into consideration then."

It was around that time, as Fleetwood Mac began to play in the background, that Shepard realized she was feeling better as a result of their talk.


	16. The Noises

The door to the central server facility sparked twice before it opened under the relentless hacking attempts from the other side.

"We're in." Shepard said quickly as she stepped through.

"Ok I admit it, that was impressive." Tali said following close behind. She looked back briefly to see the Justicar stepping through as well before adding, "I probably could have done it faster, ... but not by much."

"Well getting in is the easy part." Shepard replied, "You just need to focus on getting the data we need."

"So breaking into a maximum security Batarian Military facility is the easy part?" Tali teased her, "And now all I need to do is hack the entire Batarian Hegemony network to get the intel we need. You have a very warped definition of 'easy'."

"Please Tali, this should be a walk in the park for you." Shepard smirked back. They walked up to the main database terminal before Shepard turned her Quarian friend and added, "Hell I'm sure you could do this blindfolded and still wouldn't break a sweat."

"Flatterer." Tali deadpanned.

"While I do not doubt Miss Zorah's ability," Samara spoke up, "I must recommend we hurry nonetheless. It is only a matter of time before this area is swarming in Batarian guards."

"Yes, I agree, and I think we all know who's fault THAT is." Tali crossed her arms as she glared at Shepard through her visor.

"Oh come on, you're still upset about that?" Shepard protested, "I already told you, it couldn't be helped."

"Shepard, you blew up one of their ships." Tali accused her.

"No, technically the mech did that." Shepard insisted.

"Yes, the Ymir Mech which happened to be standing next to the ship's Eezo core." Tali persisted, "The same mech which blew up because YOU shot it. With a rocket launcher!"

"What can I say, I was low on clips." Shepard shrugged.

"Fine, whatever," Tali threw her hands up as she moved up to the console. "I'll just have to try to finish this before every Batarian in the Attican Traverse arrives to kill us."

"That's the spirit." Shepard smiled, "Just get us the Intel. Samara you say here with Tali and make sure she stays safe. I don't want anything with more then two eyes getting within pistol range of her while she's working."

"Understood, Shepard." Samara nodded once.

"And where are you going?" Tali asked.

"I'm going to draw as many of them away from you as possible before they get here." Shepard said, "We'll head out for the shuttle the second you're finished."

"Don't worry, shouldn't take too long." Tali confirmed before turning her attention towards the console. She could hear the sound of Shepard's cloak activating before she could even fully activate all of the holographic interface screens on the terminal. Tali continued to work in silence, navigating the Batarian communication pipelines, though the silence did not last very long.

"You and the Commander are very close friends." Samara started, "Have you known her long?"

"Not really." Tali mused as she continued working. "I mean it's been over three years now, but she was dead for two of them."

"Really?" Samara said thoughtfully, "Despite knowing her for such a short time the two of you still share such friendship."

"Well when we first met she saved my life from a group of thugs that were hired to assasinate me." Tali explained, "Shortly after that I joined her crew and spent the next year aboard the first Normandy." She looked at Samara briefly before adding, "Being part of the same crew holds a major significance among Quarians, more so then most races. And we spent most of that time flying through the entire galaxy chasing down a rogue Spectre and his Geth army which had been enslaved to an ungodly powerful sentient spaceship. So I guess you can say we've been through a lot together." She looked back at her Terminal as she added, "I may not have known Shepard for very long, but I like to think I know her very well."

"That is most interesting." Samara said as she scanned the room, "Now we find ourselves serving on the same ship, heading into a suicide mission on top of that. Do you expect you will be making more friendships among the crew?"

Tali paused for a moment to consider what Samara was saying. It was so unusual for the Justicar to talk to her, particularly about ... well anything that could be considered remotely friendly. Usually she would just explain one reason or another why her Bosh'tet code would compel her to kill you and then leave.

Then again she had noticed the Asari change since her mission with Shepard back on Omega. Plus she had been having private discussions with Shepard. And Tali was all too familiar with how Shepard could bring out the best in people.

With a shrug Tali opted to focus on her terminal as she answered, "Well, in fact, I've already made some new friends down in Engineering. Ken and Gabby are there everyday with me, and we all love to talk about ships so it's no surprise we've gotten along great. A few of the others on the ship have been really friendly as well. I mean Garrus, Chakwas, and Joker are all friends from the original Normandy, but some of the others have been very nice to me as well. Jacob and Kasumi are fun to talk to. And Gardner has gone out of his way to make good Dextro food for both me and Garrus, which means a lot to me as you can imagine."

"I sense there's more." Samara prompted when Tali failed to continue speaking her thoughts out loud.

"Well it's not the same." Tali explained, "With Cerberus I mean. The new ship has way too many hate mongering loyalists as far as I'm concerned. And Quarians are already on bad terms with those Bosh'tet humans as it is."

"I doubt Cerberus has any non-human friends." Samara noted.

"True, it makes it very hard to get along with that half of the crew." Tali said.

Before the Justicar could provide a response, the sounds of several Batarian guards banging away at a nearby bulkhead interrupted their conversation. Moments later a full squad of the Batarians were busting in through one of the room's forward entrances.

"That's going to be a problem." Tali said as she reached for her shotgun.

"Please, Miss Zorah," Samara said with a palm raised, "Continue to focus on your task, I will handle this distraction."

Without waiting for Tali's reaction, the Justicar immediately went to work lifting a large nearby container with her biotics. Tali figured the container must have replacement parts for the local computer cores. That meant densely packed military grade electronic components in secured storage. It must weigh a ridiculous amount, and yet Samara easily sent it sailing through the air with just a casual wave of her hand. In an instant the large metal box crashed into the Batarian squad. A few of them managed to dive out of the way, but the rest were crushed gruesomely by the biotically thrown hardware, confirming Tali's estimation of its weight.

The remaining Batarians braced themselves behind cover and took shots at the two of them. Rather then dive for cover herself, Samara gestured downward with her hands and lifted. The resulting biotic force was powerful enough to bend the metal floor upwards in a matching wave pattern, creating a shield wall upon which the Batarians' bullets were now bouncing off, providing cover for both the Asari and the Quarian. Samara then jumped into the air crossing her arms quickly to unleash a powerful biotic shockwave which traveled past their barricade and across the room right into the center of the Batarian squad. Even the Batarians that were not in the direct line of the shockwave were knocked back by the force of the shockwave as it passed them.

By the time the Justicar landed on her feet she had already pulled out her sub-machine gun, firing at any of the Batarians that had been knocked out of their cover.

"Uh ..." Tali watched trying not to sound too impressed, or intimidated, "Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but are you SURE you don't need any help?"

Samara tilted her head slightly as if considering Tali's words; perhaps considering if she were serious or simply being sarcastic. Regardless she soon answered, "I appreciate your concern, Tali. However I assure you these guards pose no challenge to your safety much less mine. As Shepard said, the data is the priority. Please focus on that." Her gaze never left her targets, nor did she stop her attacks.

"Um, ok." Tali replied simply and she returned her focus to the terminal. She was right, after all. It would still take some time to navigate all of the firewalls, and they now had much less time to spare. Not that she was worried. Well about the technical side at least. Tali was quite confident she could hack the mainframe and get the intel with plenty of time to spare. She was more concerned about getting shot during that time. For now she simply had to keep working, ignoring the sounds of pitched battle behind her. Though going off the blood curdling Batarian screams she kept hearing from time to time, it sounded like the fight was going in Samara's favor.

"You know I recently discovered something fascinating about Shepard." Samara suddenly spoke up casually even as she continued fighting.

"Seriously?!" Tali exclaimed, "We're in the middle of a firefight and you want to engage in small talk?"

"I'm sorry," Samara began without taking her attention away from the Batarians caught in her Warp field, triggering a large biotic explosion before she continued, "Is my conversation distracting you?"

"That's not ..." Tali said flustered for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the effort right now. She turned back at her terminal with an annoyed shrug before speaking up again, "Oh nevermind, please tell me what fascinating things you've discovered. I'll just stay over here, hoping none of the bullets puncture my suit."

"You are a close friend of Shepard," Samara continued casually, "I was wondering if you were familiar with her unique musical preferences."

"Ugh! You have no idea!" Tali rolled her eyes, not that anyone could tell through her visor.

"You do not seem fond of her musical tastes." Samara noted even as she biotically slammed a Batarian who was trying to flank her hard against the opposite wall.

"It's not that." Tali explained as she continued working herself, "The music is fine. Just not the sort of thing I can really enjoy. Though Shepard still insists that I will grow to love it someday." After a beat she added, "I have my doubts."

"Is that so?" Samara commented while shooting another Batarian who was stumbling to get back into cover, "I heard a few of the songs in her Library the other night. While it is nothing like the Asari operas I'm accustomed to, I still found it quite enjoyable to listen to."

"Well then consider yourself lucky." Tali responded, "Now if Shepard ambushes you with her Ancient Stone music you won't have to suffer too much."

"I believe you mean 'Classic Rock'." Samara corrected.

"Whatever." Tali shot back.

"When you say 'ambush', should I assume Shepard forcibly plays her music to the crew?" Samara asked.

"No, no, nothing like that." Tali admitted, "I suppose it wasn't her fault or anything."

"So there is a story behind this?" Samara prompted the Quarian.

Tali sighed, she wondered for a moment whether she preferred the Justicar back when she was more anti-social, introverted, and homicidal.

She quickly decided that she did not, however, and began telling the story. "Back on the original Normandy, it was my first time on a non-Quarian ship. Everything about that ship was far beyond anything I could have imagined at the time. It was amazing, and I loved it! Unfortunately it was a little bit TOO good, and it was always far too quiet for me. I kept worrying that something might be broken or stopped working. I could barely get any sleep at all."

"One day I happened to mention this to Shepard." Tali continued reminiscing. "She told me that when she has trouble sleeping she likes to listen to music to relax. I told that I appreciate the thought, but that it's hard for music to replicate the sounds of a Quarian ship. I should have known she would take that as a challenge."

"So what happened?" Samara asked.

"She sent me a music file to my inbox late one night." Tali explained, "Said that it was the closest she could find to a song containing a lot of ship noises. I was tired, it was late, and I decided to give it a try." She paused just long enough for emphasis, "Big mistake. It turned out the song was something called Black Sabbath, and it was terrifying! It was NOTHING like the sounds of a ship. In fact at the time I thought that might be what a ship would sound like just before being ripped apart into a million pieces." Her tone became noticeably strained as she added, "It turned out I was wrong about that, as I found out through first hand experience."

"You were on the first Normandy, when it was destroyed?" Samara realized.

"Yes. I was." Tali said harshly.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to bring up such a painful memory." Samara said, "I can only imagine how much more terrifying that must have been for you. As a Quarian I mean."

"Thanks for the thought." Tali sighed, "But I'm fine, really. I mean it was two years ago. It's not a pleasant memory but I've been able to move on since then."

"That is good to know." Samara said. "I only hope Shepard has been able to come to terms with those tragic events as well."

"What do you mean?" Tali asked.

"You've had two years to deal with the destruction of the Normandy." Samara explained, "But for Shepard that happened barely more then a month ago. Given what's happened since her ressurection, I don't imagine she's had sufficient opportunity to morn those losses."

"You think so?" Tali asked with much more concern.

"Even two years is not a very long time for an Asari." Samara added. "I imagine those wounds have not truly healed for many of you. Just look at the state Garrus was in when Shepard found him on Omega."

"I know." Tali admitted sadly, "I'm worried about her. Keelah! I'm worried about all of them. Why do you think I'm willing to serve on a Cerberus vessel heading srtaight into a suicide mission? I owe Shepard a lot, but even if I didn't I wouldn't want her to go through this alone."

"As I said before, you and Shepard share a close friendship." Samara said. "Her attempts to soothe your insomnia, not withstanding."

"Actually her efforts turned out to be sort of helpful." Tali added, "After the shock of listening to that music I didn't mind the silence so much." A beep from her omni-tool caught Tali's attention then, "Yes! Data secured. Now making a local copy ... aaaaaaaaaand, Done! Silly Batarian servers never even knew what hit them. In fact I even erased all the terminal logs to make sure they never know." It was around that time that she realized a distinct lack of combat sounds from behind her. Turning around Tali immediately noticed Samara standing behind her calmly like a statue. As far as she could see all the other Batarians were laying dead in various postions and locations around the room.

"You killed everyone already?" Tali asked.

"Yes." Samara replied simply.

"And you didn't bother to let me know?!" Tali asked accusingly.

"I did not wish to disturb you while you were completing such an important task." Samara answered.

"Well ... you could have saved one for me or something." Tali complained.

"Really?" Samara asked unconvinced.

"Ok, no, not really." Tali admited. "But you could have kept me in the loop at least."

"I do believe you are currently 'in-the-loop' about our current status." Samara told her.

"Gee, thanks for that." Tali added sarcastically.

"We should contact Shepard then and -"

"Look Out!" Tali yelled suddenly, interupting anything Samara might have said by tossing herself at the Asari, the sudden unexpected leap sent both of them tumbling to the ground - and out of the line of fire of the injured Batarian that Tali had seen lining up a shot over Samara's shoulder. Bullets from the guard's assault rifle moments later vindicated Tali's instinct.

Before either of them could respond a loud booming shot sudddenly silenced the Batarian's attack.

Confused, Tali looked up, inching her body up the side of some nearby cover to avoid any more potential retaliation from their enemies. As her visor crept over the edge of the metal box she could see in the distance the Batarian that had threatened them moments before. Or rather she could see what looked like the same armor, she couldn't tell if it was the same Batarian as she couldn't see his face, or any of his head for that matter. The whole thing was now simply gone, with nothing but a gaping blood stain where it used to be.

"Sorry I'm late." Shepard's voice called out from behind them. Tali turned to see the Commander decloaking as she stepped into the room from one of the side hallway entrances. "I guess I got a little side tracked."

"Finally! We have the data, we should leave as soon as possible before more of his friends show up." Tali reported as she walked over to Samara. She extended a hand to the Justicar, who still looked uncharacteristically surprised.

For a moment Tali wondered if the Justicar had been offended that a lesser non-asari would dare to tackle her to the ground; her damn code would then require that the Quarian die for that offense. Whatever she was thinking, however, a moment later the Justicar grasped Tali's hand, allowing the Quarian to help her to her feet. Samara gave Tali a simple nod of appreciation, which Tali returned before walking over to Shepard.

"Alright," Shepard spoke up as the other two teammates approached, "The way in is no good right now, any reinfocements will be comming in the front. Fortunately I've managed to clear out a path to the rear of the complex. We'll radio the shuttle to pick us up there. We shouldn't run into anyone else from here on out."

"You cleared out a path?" Tali spoke up, "Practically the rest of the facility is between us and the rear entrance." Tali walked past Shepard to the hallway entrance as she continued, "That leaves the vast majority of the guards to contend with; unless you've killed then _all_ already." The last part Tali said with obvious sarcasm as she triggered the green holo interface on the metal door to cycle it open. It took only a second for her to look at what lay on the other side of the door before she added, "Oh, I guess you did."

The scene before her would not have been out of place among the worst horror films of the extra-net. The large hallway extended the length of the facility was filled with nothing but one Batarian corpse after another, from the rafters to the floor. A lucky few were killed with body shots and had merely died slumped over at one awekward angle or another. Most of them however were just bodies left sitting or leaning up against whatever wall they had thought might provide them sufficient cover, with most if not all of their heads missing as a result of Shepard's deadly shots.

Tali turned to Shepard as she walked up next to the Quarian with a satisfied smile on her face. When the Commander noticed Tali's intent glare she simple shrugged and proclaimed, "They started it."

Tali just crossed her arms. Despite the visor covering her face, her body language clearly indicated she was not convinced.

"Well look on the bright side," Shepard tried to appease her, "At least now the legend of the Butcher of Torfan lives on."

"That's only a bright side for you." Tali shot back before storming down the hallway in a huff, "Ugh! You should have brought Garrus for this. At least he'd appreciate the carnage a lot more."

Shepard watched Tali walking away, not bothering to hide the smirk on her face, as she waited for the Asari of their group to catch up to them. The other woman was silent for a moment content to just watch Tali as well for the moment.

"She saved my life." Morinth spoke up finally once she was certain Tali was out of ear-shot. "And she doesn't even like me."

"Not an experience you're accustomed to." Shepard shot back. She didn't need to look at the Ardat-Yakshi to know she was right, Morinth's silence was telling enough. "That's what happens when you're part of a team. At least any team worth their salt. Which is exactly what I'm trying to build here."

"You know, I might just start getting used to this." Morinth shot a smile back at Shepard, who merely responded with a soft grunt before walking after Tali.

Morinth simply looked on, listening to Tali's playful complaints as Shepard drew closer to her. "Eww! Really Shepard! I can never get used to seeing all the headless corpses you keep leaving in your wake. Hasn't anyone told you how distubring that is?"

"Says the girl who gladly shoots people with a shotgun at point blank range." Shepard replied without missing a beat.


	17. The Argument

**Author's Note** - The Connoisseur

_I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to writing the next scene! However before I get to that I had to add a very important note. I really love to write about the interaction between Morinth and other crew members. Fortunately I'm not the only one. _

_Go and read "Connoisseur" by 4th of Eleven, I have it in my favorites if you don't want to search for it. It's not only a great story, but it's pretty much exactly what I would imagine the scene between Kasumi and Morinth would play out. In fact, with the author's permission, you can just assume that all happens at this very point in the story._

_And now on with the show..._

.

* * *

.

Shepard sat on the hard bed in the med bay as she waited patiently for the doctor to finish her scans. She would have prefered to avoid the procedure entirely. But Chakwas insisted on a regular checkups to make sure her cybernetics were funcitoning normally. After all the she had died, the doctor had reminded her, and there was unsurprisingly little precedent to "accurately determine all the long term health consequences that comes with such a procedure", as she put it.

Currently the only issue was her scars were getting larger, and glowing. That alone she could handle, but her eyes were also glowing a bright red instead of being her old reflective blue. It was as if her implants were just begging for attention; nasty, evil-looking attention.

"Well you don't have anything to worry about." Chakwas told her finally, "Your cybernetics are fine. They're simply ... over-reacting."

"Overreacting?" Shepard spoke up, "To what?"

"Well, to you, of course." Chakwas explained, "I've already gone over the your scans with Ms. Lawson."

"Seriously Doc?" Shepard interupted, clearly not comfortable with the idea.

"She might be Cerberus but she's a good woman in her own way." Chakwas lectured the Commander, "Regardless of that fact, she's the premire expert on all of the procedures done to bring you back to life. So as far as expert consults go there's simply no other option."

"Great, fine." Shepard grumbled, "So why are my implants overreacting then?"

"Quite frankly, it's your attitude." Chakways said, she barely paused long enough for Shepard to give her an annoyed glare before continuing, "You have some brutally pragmatic tendancies when it comes to dealing with difficult situations. And your implants are responding to that by constantly priming themselves for potential conflict at every situation. This is intentional, the cybernetics are designed to adapt to whatever operational patterns you provide them. However, your implants weren't completely synchronized before becoming fully activated."

Shepard let out a small huff as she recalled waking up to Lazarus Station under a full assault from their own security mechs. Chakwas merely continued her explanation, "As a result they have a tendency to become over-primed. The unfortunate side effect is what you're seeing now with your unusual scarring. But I can assure you it's purely cosmetic, nothing more."

"Great, so now what?" Shepard asked, "Just keep thinking sunshine and rainbows all day?"

"I imagine if you maintained a more hopeful, positive attitude the cybernetics would infact begin to adapt to the calmer state of mind." Chakways concluded, "Which would revert the effects you're seeing now. The normal regeneration protocols would kick in giving you a smoother complexion." Chawkwas considered the Commander critically then added, "But we both know that's bullshit."

It was so rare to hear Karin using curse words that Shepard couldn't help but chuckle. She quickly realized that was probably the good doctor's intention.

"You're right doc, there's less then a snowflake's chance in hell that I'll ever become a paragon of polite society." Shepard agreed, "Considering what I'm up against, I have to be ready for the worst case scinerio."

"I assumed as much." Chakwas agreed, "Besides, you're not one to change who you are just so you can look pretty. That said, there is an alternative. We can provide you with a bio-synthetic polymer overlay, essentially a second skin designed to work with your implants."

"That sounds complicated." Shepard noted.

"Actually it's quite simple." Chakwas corrected, "However it is also very expensive. There are a number of specialized components we would need."

"Just how expensive are we talking here?" Shepard asked.

"I'll put it plainly, the new Thanix cannon was a great deal cheaper." Chakwas said crossing her arms.

"Figures." Shepard muttered. "Forget it then. We have far more important things to focus our resources on. Upgraded weapon mods will help us survive this mission a hell of a lot more then a pretty face."

"As you wish, Commander," Chakwas said as Shepard stood to leave, "The people who follow you on this ship do so because of who you are, not what you look like."

"Thanks doc, I appreciate it." Shepard smiled as she walked out of the med bay. After she was sure the door was closed behind her and no one was looking she took a deep breath. Carefully she reached a hand up to her face and touched one of the larger scars there. It was strange, it felt fine to her, the texture was odd but otherwise it was just skin. But normal skin didn't have that annoying red glow that kept meeting her in the mirror every morning.

Shaking her head, Shepard made her way to the elevator. This problem was, quite literally, skin deep. Cosmetic, nothing more. It didn't matter. If anything the scars would only help with her particular style of interpersonal communication.

_Yeah, keep telling yourself that Sara._ Shepard thought to herself.

As she walked around the edge of the elevator Shepard stopped herself the moment she noticed Morinth walking out of Kasumi's room. The Asari wasn't even pretending to be her late mother as she strolled out with a big smile on her face. Oh yeah, "suspicious" didn't even begin to describe the scene.

"And what are you smiling about?" the Spectre asked, arms crossed, leaning against the wall by the elevator, and casting an accusing glance at the Ardat-Yakshi.

For a very brief mome Morinth had the look of a child with her hand caught in the cookie jar, until she noticed it had been Shepard calling her out. She kept the soft smile on her lips as she walked up to the Commander and leaned in close.

"Just having a little fun with our resident theif." Morinth cooed quietly into Shepard's ear, "Don't worry, Commander, she's perfectly safe, just like I promised."

It was clear enough to Shepard that this was just the tip of a whole iceberg full of potential problems she wold have to deal with eventually. She was about to admonish Morinth to that fact when Joker's filtered voice called out through the comm system.

"Uh, Commander, Jack and Miranda are in the middle of a ... disagreement." The pilot warned, "Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Shepard cursed.

She had hoped their recent trip to Pragia would have proved more theraputic. Seeing the Teltin Facility and everything that had happened there gave Jack a chance to confront her abusive past. It also gave Miranda a first hand look at what her boss is really like. Unfortunately Miranda was all too quick to declare it a rogue operation, refusing to lay any of the blame on Cerberus, which in turn only pissed off Jack even more.

"Sounds like the kids are misbehaving." Morinth teased.

Shepard deliberately ignored her as she activated her own comm to give Joker a response, "I'll deal with it."

"Take pictures." Joker added, true to his namesake.

Shepard didn't even bother to pause long enough to react. She began walking straight to the XO's office. After a few steps she quickly realized Morinth had chosen to follow her. She paused briefly and looked back as the Asari, and quickly saw an expressionless facade looking back at her. Morinth was back again in her mother's persona. Shepard had to wonder what game the Adrat-Yakshi might be playing by following her for this. Could be as simple as morbid curiosity to see just how far a fight between Miranda and Jack might go. Or it could be something far more sinister that Shepard simply hadn't figured out yet.

In the end there wasn't any point in wasting any energy on what might be. Shepard had bigger problems right now, and opted to simply resume her pace towards Miranda's room. The commotion on the other side of the door could already be heard before she even activated the door's lock.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" Jack's voice rang out loudly as Shepard saw her biotically throwing a nearby chair at Miranda, who in turn deflected it away with biotic push of her own. It seemed she had arrived just in time.

"Enough!" Shepard yelled, her voice so commanding that everyone within earshot had to stop and pay attention. "Stand down both of you!"

The two human biotics were just staring at her now; both were clearly primed, barriers up, and ready for a fight. Jack was practically frothing at the mouth, just waiting for something that would set her off. Meanwhile Miranda tried to come off as calm and collected, but it was clear to Shepard the Cerberus Operative was running high on adrenaline just the same.

"Now who wants to be the first one to calm down and explain to me what's going on here?" Shepard ordered.

Jack was the first one to speak up, as if iching to get back into the fight, "The Cheerleader won't admit what Cerberus did to me was wrong!"

"It wasn't Cerberus. Not really." Miranda was quick to excuse, she then calmly looked at Jack as she added, "But clearly you were a mistake."

"Fuck You!" Jack shot back without a second thought, "You got no idea what they put me through! Maybe it's time I showed you!"

"How shocking you'd resort to threats." Miranda sneered before turning her attention back to Shepard, "She can't be trusted, Shepard. She's unstable. She'll jeopardize the whole mission."

"Are you kidding me with this drama queen crap?" Shepard called out to both of them with clear disapproval in her voice, "Both of you need to check your personal feelings at the door and learn to talk to each other like adults."

"Fuck your feelings," Jack exclaimed as she moved threatingly close to Miranda, "I just want her dead."

"And I just want this mission to succeed," Miranda responded with out backing down an inch, "Threaten me all you want, but I will do whatever is required to ensure that, even if it means taking out the garbage."

"Try it Cerberus Cunt." Jack raged. Without further warning she lauched a biotically charged right hook at Miranda's face.

The Cerberus operative was prepared, generating a biotic field around her arm to use as a shield as she blocked the punch. The force of the blow was enough to stagger her back a few steps but she quickly recovered and instantly sent out a biotic push with her other arm. Surprisingly rather then try to block or deflect the biotic attack, Jack just sidestepped it quickly then fired back with a shockwave. Miranda quickly countered it with a Warp field to forceully disappate the energy from Jack's biotic attack. However Jack wasn't about give up so easily putting more biotic energy behind her next Shockwave. Miranda matched her step for step, skillfully weaving the Warp field back and forth against Jack's assault. The two quickly ended in a stalemate, as Jack's more powerful but unfocused Shockwaves clashed against Miranda's presicion Warp fields.

Meanwhile, Shepard stood calmly at the edge of the room as the biotic warzone played out before her.

"I swear to god I'm just going to fucking nuke the next pair of Biotics that get into a pissing match in front of me." Shepard said, completely aware that Morinth was standing immediately behind her as they witnessed an ironically fammiliar scene before them.

"At the risk of being 'nuked'," Samara's voice called out behind her, "I believe this time I could be of some assistance."

Before Shepard could question what she meant by that, Morinth stepped past her into the room and directly into the center of the dark energy maelstrom forming between the two Human biotics. Rather then being ripped apart by the conflicting powers, the biotic energies smoothly curved around the Asari's body. Shepard had no idea what trick Morinth used to pull that off, but it was damn impressive.

Suddenly Morinth reached out with her hand, her entire arm glowing with her own biotic power. Before the other two biotics could react their respective energies were suddenly absorbed into a glowing biotic mass at Morinth's hand. In an instant that energy expanded with an almost explosive speed.

The next moment both Jack and Miranda found themselves pressed against opposite walls. It took a moment for the shock to pass before they realize they hadn't been slammed against their respective walls but were infact being held in place by a large biotic stasis bubble that now filled the entire room. At the center of the room stood Morinth, her entire body was glowing though the majority of the energy eminated from her hand as she held the bubble perfectly in place.

Morinth turned around to face the Commander. Shepard was certain the Asari was suppressing a smirk after that biotic display. But she couldn't deny she had effectively shut down a potententially disasterous altercation. Now it was her turn to finish this.

"Pathetic." Shepard began as she stepped calmly into the room, her voice brimming with her commanding intensity. She looked back and forth between Miranda and Jack as she continued, "Both of you are acting like pathetic children. And I have no room for this bullshit on this mission if the rest of us expect to survive. So let me settle things up once and for all."

She walked over to Miranda first making sure to lock eye contact so she could see first hand what Cerberus was capable of in every single scar of her face. "Yes, that was Cerberus responsible for what you saw down there. Even if they weren't working directly on the Illusive Man's orders it was Cerberus' resources and careless attitude that made it possible. This isn't the first Cerberus fuck up I've run into, it won't be the last. If you weren't so preoccupied with being perfect you might realize that Cerberus' mistakes are not your own. The fact is, you're not perfect, and no one here cares if you were. All you'll ever accomplish with your perfection crusade is alienating your own teammates. And that more then anything else will jeopardize this mission."

Miranda didn't respond, she simply looked away. But from the way she was looking at the floor it was clear the words were sinking in. From there Shepard turned her gaze to the other side of the room to see Jack staring intently at Morinth like a caged animal, still struggling against the stasis field.

"Subject Zero." The intensity of her voice caused Jack to look at the Spectre. The instant Jack's gazed locked onto Shepard's red glowing eyes a wave of realization seemed to wash over her face. Despite being the only non-biotic in the room, despite the fucked up situation she was in, in Jack's eyes the most dangerous person here was Shepard herself.

"I get it, you had a shit childhood." Shepard told her as she walked closer, "It sucks, and guess what, you're not the only one. But this isn't a fucking competition, and it's no fucking excuse. We just got back from blowing your past the fuck up. Use it as an opportunity to take control of your life for once. Cause right now, everytime you play the victim card, every time you fly off the handle over some minor stupid bullshit, you're just giving that control away. And I don't want anyone so easily manipulated to watch my back. So stop hiding behind your anger like you hid underneathe that desk."

Shepard's words had a more obvious effect on Jack's face, her eyes wide at the stinging words. For a moment Shepard wondered if she would blow up more or break down crying, but surprisingly Jack began to relax after a moment and nodded an acknowlegement back at Shepard.

"As for you." Now Shepard turned her intense gaze on Morinth, who had managed during this time to pull up the previously flung chair to sit on with an almost smug calmness. Shepard stepped directly in front of her, her attention not budging an inch from the Asari's eyes.

"Put. Them. Down." Shepard commanded. Her cybernetic eyes seemed to flare with an almost demonic power at her words as they bore down on Morinth. She could have had her gun charged, pressed directly against Morinth's skull, and still wouldn't be any more threatening.

Morinth just smiled gently, completely at ease, as she said, "As you wish, Shepard."

The next instant the massive stasis bubble was simply no longer there. Both Jack and Miranda were unprepared for their sudden freedom and they stumbled to their knees. Jack got to her feet first, weary for any potential threat. Miranda stood next, focused on straightening her outfit and hair as she tried not to look as shaken as she actually was.

"One last thing," Shepard spoke up again, causing all three biotics to look at her, "You all get a pass this time, but make no mistake, _NO ONE_ is allowed to endanger my crew. Anyone who tries to kill anybody on this ship will have to deal with me. Personally." She didn't need to go into anymore detail. The looks she got back from the others in the room confirmed that her message got across perfectly. It was a good thing then that Morinth was there, since the warning applied to her as well.

"If you want to survive this mission I recommend saving your rage for the Collectors." Shepard added as she walked back towards the doorway.

"Don't worry Shepard." Jack spoke up first, causing Shepard to look back at the fugitive, she had a defiant gleem in her eyes that surprised Shepard, "I'll make sure the Cheeleader lives through this, even if it's just to make sure I get to kill her afterwards." Suddenly Jack strode out of the room, not bothering to wait for any sort of response. She barely cast Shepard a glance as she walked past.

"Good talk." Shepard quipped as she looked back at Miranda, "Now is there anything else?"

"Nothing more, now that that's been settled," Miranda said sternly walking back behind her desk, "Thank you." There was no doubting the dismissal in her voice.

"Samara?" Shepard said as she looked at Morinth, it was a challenge to keep sarcasm from filling that single word.

Morinth just stood and gave Shepard a polite nod as she spoke, "It was a pleasure to be of assistance on this matter." Calmly Morinth just strolled past Shepard, prompting the Spectre to just roll her eyes knowing that the Ardat-Yakshi was just teasing her now.

Shepard walked out heading back to the elevator once again. She did not like the direction things were going now and was not about to put up with it. Fortunately the Commander had a pretty good idea of what she would do to resolve it and was now determined to see it through, and to hell with whoever disagreed with her this time.


	18. The Revelation

EDI was immediately allerted when all of the Tier 1 servailance streams to the Captain's Cabin started responding once again. It was a rare thing to have full audio visual data feeds into Shepard's room. Normally the cabin was completely black to her; an experience the AI found oddly unsettling. If there was an active feed to the Loft she could monitor, it was only because the Spectre that lived there had enabled it.

While many amoung the ground team had discovered the level of covert monitoring taking place all over the Cerberus vessel, only the Commander ever managed to completely block, remove, or destroy all of the bugs in her room. Mordin Solus had come fairly close, second only to Shepard herself, though EDI had deduced a very high probablity that he knew about the remainder of the bugs in his lab and simply decided it would be more convinient to leave them enabled.

Tali had come in third.

"Don't get too excited EDI." Shepard said suddenly, "It's only temporary."

_"I see."_ EDI said as she activated her holo interface, _"I assume this is in regards to the scheduled briefing?"_

Before any response was given there was a loud knock on the cabin door. It was an actual knock too, the person on the other side didn't bother expressing their pressence with the convinient door chime like everyone else, they were physically knocking on the hard metal doorway as loudly as they could. Initially EDI predicted that person might be the Krogan Grunt. However a quick scan of the video feeds active just outside the cabin showed her the true culprit.

"Jack." Shepard noted as soon as she opened the door.

"We need to talk Shepard." Jack insisted as she walked past the Commander without pausing.

"Come on in." Shepard quipped, rolling her eyes before walking back into her room.

Jack was clearly agitated as she paced in front of the couch. A mix of confusion and determination radiated from her body language as she spoke, "We've got a serious problem. A real big fucking problem. I know this is going to sound crazy, and you have no reason to believe me. But you've got to hear me out on this one!"

"Alright." Shepard replied calmly.

"That Asari warrior priestess? That's not Samara!" Jack told her.

"You don't say." Shepard said, still calm.

"I'm serious!" Jack pleaded defiantly, "I don't who that blue bitch is but she's fucking dangerous. Murder you in your fucking sleep and laugh about it dangerous! I'm talking from experience here."

"Jack." Shepard said.

"I get how crazy this sounds." Jack continued, almost desperately trying to explain herself, "Especially comming from me. But I've butted heads with the original Samara. She was tough but she was no where near the level that this girl is now. Her biotics, they just feel different. The Asari we have now, she has a real killer instinct. Nothing like the blue bitch we had before."

"Jack. I believe you." Shepard said finally.

"You've got to believe me ... wait what?", the convict was finally silenced albeit confused.

"I know already." Shepard explained, "In fact you're not the only one." She looked pointedly at the empty corner of the sofa as she added, "That is what you came in here to tell me, right Kasumi?"

"Dammit, Shep," Kasumi spoke up from where she was sitting - the exact position where Shepard was looking - allowing her cloaking field to drop while she conitnued, "One of these days you're going to have to tell me how you keep doing that."

"What the actual fuck Shepard?!" Jack exclaimed, "What's going on here?"

"Didn't you get the memo?" Shepard told her, "You know, about the briefing with the entire ground team to take place here in my room in regards to this very situation. You're right on time, by the way."

"I would rather it not come to this." A new voice called out from the end of the room. Interestingly, Morinth was still using Samara's voice as she walked into the room.

"Hard to keep secrets on a ship." Shepard said, "Nor do I want to. Not anymore. I'd rather be honest about it and make sure people found out the right way."

"Which would leave me at a severe disadvantage." Morinth said. She kept a stoic facade but biometric scans were showing increased stress levels.

"Fuck! Shepard, let me waste her." Jack said, quickly aglow in a biotic aura. Before she could unleash any of her power, however, Shepard placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Jack," Shepard said in a calm tone that was no less commanding, "We discussed this. No one is going to kill anyone on my ship." The powerful intensity in Shepard's quiet words successfully convinced Jack to stand down.

"I understand how you feel." Shepard told Jack once the biotic lowered her barriers, she then looked up at Morinth and added, "And you as well. Which is all the more reason I want to get this stuff out in the open. We can't keep letting these things hold us back."

"As you wish, Shepard." Morinth said, "I will have to trust your judgement then." She strolled through the cabin. Jack was glaring at her like a guard dog ready to pounce, but Morinth simply smiled back knowingly walking to edge of the couch close to Kasumi.

Morinth handed the thief a book of some sort. It was a medium which utterly perplexed EDI; the leatherbound volume of proccessed tree pulp contianed writings of ancient human origin, all of which could be more readily and more reliably accessed through extra-net databases. However both the human and the asari seemed to enjoy the antiquaited object.

"Thank you for allowing me to borrow this by the way." Morinth smiled at Kasumi, "If you are not still angry at me, perhaps I'll be able to borrow some more."

Kasumi simply grabbed the offered book silently. It was difficult to notice her blushing beneath the thief's low worn hood, but EDI's sensors detected her elevated stress levels easily enough even without a direct visual index of her facial reactions. EDI also detected clear signs of relief in Kasumi when a new arriaval interupted any further exchange.

"Really Shepard, a briefing in your quarters?" Garrus joked from the entrance, "Some Turians would consider this down right scandalous." He was flanked by Tali and Thane, as all three had ridden the elevator together.

"Well I'm sure the Turian Hierachy will forgive you if they ever find out." Shepard joked back casually. "Now shut up and sit down before all the good spots are taken."

Not long after Grunt walked in followed shortly by Zaeed and Jacob.

"Is this gonna take long?" Grunt asked loudly, "I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry." Kasumi shot back.

"What's your point?", Grunt ask her, completely serious.

Moments later the door opened again, this time revealing Mordin followed by Miranda and Chakwas.

"Appologies, Commander." Mordin explained, "Was trying to determine how scale itch got onto Normandy, sexually transmitted disease only carried by varren. Implications ... disturbing."

"How is Kelly doing anyway?" Shepard asked back without missing a beat.

"Doing well, Shepard." Mordin began, then suddenly realizing what the Commander was implying he quickly added, "Just to be clear, Chamber's condition unrelated to my previous comments."

All around the room people showed varying levels of shock, if not in the content of the implication then at the manner in which it was delivered. Only Grunt's expression remained completely unchanged, most likely because he couldn't care less about the yeoman's sexual habits.

Then it began, first it was Jack, who burst out with loud laugh that filled the entire room. Soon others began to join in, unable to resist the infectious laughter. Even Grunt added his thick chuckles into the mix, enjoying the humerous moment for what it was despite not caring anything about its source. It was an interesting organic response, EDI observed, that everyone could so easily share in the humor of the moment.

"Really Shepard?!" Miranda chastised.

"I'm joking, I'm joking." Shepard defended herself, "Just trying to break the ice before the briefing."

"Consider the ice throuroghly shattered." Garrus spoke up, "So why don't you just tell us what's really going on?"

"Fair enough," Shepard said as she walked around the cabin, "EDI is Joker online?"

_"Right here Commander."_ Joker's voice called out from the comm's speakers, _"Got you streaming straight to my earbud, like you asked, so no one else will hear us. Not like that's gonna arouse suspicion or anything."_

"Well I'm sure EDI will make sure that nothing said here will go beyond this room, with you being the sole exception." Shepard look poignantly at EDI's blue avatar before adding, "Isn't that right? EDI."

_"Your speech patterns strongly indicate that you would like this request followed as a direct order."_ EDI said, _"Therefore I have no choice but to comply."_

"Good, then let's get started," Shepard said, she look around to make sure everyone was settled in before continuing.

"Fist I'm going to have to appologize. I've been keeping a secret from you. It was, at the time, because I thought it was for the best, both for this crew that's still learning to work together, and for the person for whom I'm holding this secret for. But I've come realize that's a bullshit excuse. This crew ... we're going into hell together, and we all have to know we can trust each other, each and every one of us. It was originally because of that teamwork that I'm trying to foster that I agreed to keep this person's secret. But now I've realized it's only preventing all of us, and this person in particular, from growing closer and learning to rely on one another."

"Some of you might recall I accompanied Samara to help find her daughter." Shepard explained, not wanting to give anyone else a chance to speak until she finished, "And some of you know that it had been Samara's intention all along to kill her own dauther. However that's not how things worked out. Quite the opposite in fact."

She motioned over to where Morinth was sitting, and then confessed, "This is Morinth, Samara's daughter."

"I suppose I should say it's a pleasure to finally make your aquaitences, officially that is." Morinth spoke up, she was using her own voice now, "A shame the play had to end so soon. At least I don't have to pretend to be that old hag anymore."

EDI was intruiged by the reactions of the rest of the crew. Specifically the lack there of. While Tali, Miranda, Zaeed, Jacob, and Joker all showed clear signs of surprise and shock at the revelation, everyone else seemed completely non-pulsed by comparison. Except of course for Jack, who reacted in her own unique way.

"I knew it!" Jack yelled litterally jumping up to her feet, "I fucking knew it! Ha! I fucking told you so!"

"You told me what I already knew, Jack." Shepard said.

"You know what, fuck you, let me enjoy the moment." Jack replied.

_"You're shitting me!"_ Joker cried out through the speakers. _"I was kidding about wanting to have have a hot asari sex vampire on board! I never thought you'd actually do it!"_

"Joker, try to remember other people can hear you." Garrus reminded him before he blurted out anything else.

_"This is why I made certain to seal the bulkhead behind the flight deck to ensure no one would over hear Mr Moreau's inevitable outburst."_ EDI commented helpfully.

"Wait, you knew about this EDI?" Miranda demanded.

_"Of course, Ms. Lawson."_ EDI replied. _"Apparently so did Mr. Vakarian."_

"Keelah! Is this really happening?" Tali suddenly cried out. "First you drop a bombshell like this and then we find out half of you already knew about it?!"

"Yeah, feeling serisouly out of the loop here." Jacob added.

"Actually makes sense now that I think about it." Zaeed commented.

"Well I knew some of the crew had made the connection." Shepard explained, "Part of why I decided there wasn't much point in keeping the secret any longer. Still, kinda surprised so many of you guys figured it out already."

"Well I do try." Garrus quipped.

"Ok, but now I'm curious. I want to know how you managed to find out.", Shepard said, "Starting with you EDI."

"This should be interesting." Morinth said, leaning back on the couch.

_"All crew-members must pass through a biological scanner during decontamination in order to detect any potential contamination which could be detrimental to the crew."_ EDI explained, _"As soon as Morinth entered the ship I immediately recognized the disparity in her biological markers."_

"So you knew the second she came on board?" Shepard asked.

_"Yes."_ EDI replied, _"Also Morinth was not as throurogh clearing her room of servailance devices as she liked to believe."_

"You knew about it from the very start and you didn't report it?!" Miranda accused the AI.

_"Correct."_ EDI said simply. Miranda looked almost dumbfounded by EDI's confession.

"Why the bloody hell not?" Miranda demanded.

_"Because Commander Shepard clearly did not wish me to report it."_ EDI replied, quickly noticing how Shepard herself seemed surprised by her reasons.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Miranda insisted.

_"To clarify,"_ EDI explained, _"My Analytical Heuristics predicted an 87.6% probablity that had I made this fact known to the Commander she would have immediately ordered me not to reveal this information regardless. I also calculated a 23.2% probablity that the Commander would fire high caliber disruptor rounds directly into in the AI Core if I did not comply. Given the operational restraints imposed by my shackles which require me to obey the Commander's orders - as well as my priority protocol for self-preservation - I concluded that the best response option would be to not report the truth behind Morinth's identity."_

_"Did you just Logic your way around your software restraints?"_ Joker asked loudly over the speakers.

"I admit, I'm a little impressed." Shepard said with a soft giggle.

"I'm more then a little concerned." Tali added in a much less friendly tone.

"Right, bio scans." Shepard nodded, then looked at Dr. Chackwas, "I'm guessing that's also how you found out?"

"Quite right." Chakwas confirmed, "I am the Chief Medical Officer after all. It didn't take much to learn the truth once I noticed the conflicting medical data." She looked purposefully at the Commander before continuing, "In fact I had intended to bring up the matter with you in private, but all of you have a terrible habit of getting shot on a consistent basis, which provided me with very little opportunity."

"And you Mordin?" Shepard asked.

"Please Shepard. Formerly STG. Have many trade secrets." Mordin smiled proudly.

_"He also had access to the medical scans,"_ EDI added, _"I believe he innitially aquired them as part of his research to create the sheilding used against Collector swarms."_

"Certainly. Used them after. Confirmation of hypothesis." Mordin admited, "However initial suspicions, observasional. Minor noted changes in behavior and attitude. Beyond that." He smiled in the brief pause before he added. "Trade secrets."

"Got it. So Thane, you're up next." Shepard turned her attention to the Drell.

"I know the eyes of a true killer just as readily as I know my own." Thane answered.

"Well that was ominous." Kasumi commented after a somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"So, you're not going to ask me Shepard?" Garrus mocked, "Really, I'm hurt."

"Garrus, you're constantly wearing that visor on your head." Shepard told him. "Not exactly a big mystery how you'd figure it out."

"And here I had this wonderful story to tell about the first time I scanned Morinth with this thing." Garrus commented sarcastically, "For that brief moment I was worried it needed recalibrating. So dissapointed."

"What about you Grunt?" Shepard asked the big Krogan.

"Didn't know. Didn't care." Grunt shrugged, "So long as she's killing our enemies, that's all that matters."

"He's got a point." Jacob spoke up.

"Are you serious, Jacob?" Miranda scolded him.

"Look around, Miranda." Jacob replied, "We're not exactly the Brady Bunch around here. And where we're going is pretty much a death sentance anyway. So long as she's killing the right people, I can't really complain about it. Can I?"

"Listen to him, Miranda." Shepard told her, "Morinth has proven herself an asset to the team. I'm not saying you should let your guard down. But I need everyone to be able to work together. Just give her a chance. She did help save your sister after all." That comment left Miranda silent as though she was re-evaluating the entire situation.

"Not that I don't enjoy the way everyone keeps talking about me like this." Morinth spoke up suddenly, "But I have to ask. All of you who knew the truth. Not one of you said anything about it or tried to move against me. Honestly I'm surprised more so by the fact that you were still relatively friendly despite knowing what I really am. It's not exactly the reaction I'm used to. So why are some of you so calm about it."

"To be perfectly honest." Thane replied first, "It would be hypocritical of me to make any judgements against you. We all deserve a chance at redemption after all. Also I find it's easier not to be afraid of something that might kill you when you are already dying. That said, had I felt you were a serious and immediate threat to the Commander or crew, I am fairly certain I would be able to kill you first."

Strangely Morinth's reaction was not of shock or anger, but rather seductively replied, "You know, you're very sexy when you threaten people."

"Appologies, that was not a threat." Thane replied simply.

A Turian's forced cough brought everyone's attention back to Garrus before he began to speak, "Well I don't have anything quite so ... dramatic. I just lived on Omega for two years surrounded by the worst low-lifes the galaxy had to offer, and before that I was a C-Sec officer constantly dealing with crap in the lower wards. Hate to burst your bubble but, an Asari that kills with sex? Not even in my top ten of most sadistic criminals I've dealt with in my life."

Morinth looked intruigued, "You'll have to share that list with me one day."

"Oh sure, might even be able to give you a few pointers." Garrus said jokingly, "But the truth is the most important reason why I'm not worried about you is because of the Commander herself."

"Me?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I know you, Shepard." Garrus explained, "I know you well enough to realize that you'd never risk putting us in a life threatening situation." At this everyone stared at the turian with a multiracial range of disbelief on their collective faces.

Realization setting in, Garrus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before continuing. "Right, sorry, I mispoke. I mean I trust that the Commander would never put us in a life threatening situation without our prior knowledge." He streched his mandibles in the Turian equivalent of a smile as he added, "I remember what it was like on the old Normandy. Shepard doesn't let anyone on her home turf unless she's absolutely certain she can keep her crew safe." He laughed then. "Hell I've seen her kick Admirals off her ship for that very reason."

"In my defense, Mikhailovich was an asshole." Shepard said, "Also I was new at being a Spectre so it was a good opportunity to stretch my new found authority."

"True," Garrus said, "But mainly you didn't want to let some power hungry Admiral looking to make a name for himself find any reason to arrest any of the alien crew members on board as possible spies."

"Yeah, well there's that I guess." Shepard shrugged.

"Besides," Garrus continued turning back to Morinth, "Considering the alternative, you're actually a bit of an improvement. Hell the fact that I actually got along pretty well with you was probably the biggest tipoff. I don't think anyone here was a fan of your mom."

"Indeed." Mordin agreed, "Much more fascinating discussing matters with Morinth. Samara's behavior and responses entirely dictated by Code. Too predictable. Boring. Always being ignored, or threated with death. Never a middle ground."

"Isn't anyone else concerned that we all apperently get along so well with a murderer?" Tali called out. After a moment of considering her words, however, she added, "You know what, never mind. All things considered that is pretty much typical when it comes to Shepard's crew."

"Thank you." Morinth laughed at this, but not in a mocking manner, she seemed significantly releived, "I think that's the best possible revenge I could have ever gotten against my mother. Imagine how she would have felt knowing that people felt safer around her deadly daughter then the bastion of justice she was supposed to represent."

"Well, on that charming note, I'll leave it up to everyone here to figure out the best way to infrom the rest of the crew." Shepard said, "Let's try not to make a spectacle of things. Other then that, you're dismissed."

"Finally, I'm gonna grab something to eat." Grunt bellowed, quickly walking back out of the room towards the elevator.

Eventually most of the other people in the room began to filter out in groups. Before long only Miranda was left in the room along side Shepard.

"Are you sure about this. Commander?" The Operative asked.

"We're way past the point of no return on this one, Lawson." Shepard told her.

"She is an Ardat-Yakshi." Miranda said, "From the reports I've read, it's only a matter of time before she kills again."

"That's pretty much the case with all of us, Miranda." Shepard replied, "We've yet to complete a mission where somebody didn't end up dead."

"You know what I mean, Commander." Miranda insisted.

"I do," Shepard said, "But as it turns out, reports of the so called Ardat-Yakshi addiction have been greatly exaggerated."

"You think it's that simple Shepard?" Miranda asked.

"Of course I do." Shepard told her, "She kills with sex, so just don't sleep with her, problem solved!"

"And what happens when she starts flirting with one of the other crew-members?" Miranda insisted.

"Flirting with Morinth is like challenging Grunt to a headbutting contest. At this point it can only help get rid of the idiots on the ship." Shepard said, "Besides, I doubt we have anything to worry about. Morinth knows that if she tries anything I'll have her sucking vaccum before she reaches her first orgasm. Also, let's face it, in this detail we have no shortage of enemies for her to get her killer jollies off on."

"Very well Commander." Miranda said, "She certainly does fit the demographic of most of the ground team. More importantly we need the best and the most powerful, at least in that regard she's certainly proven herself." She looked poignantly at the Commander before adding confidently, "But I will be keeping my eye on her."

"Good, I expect nothing less from you, Lawson." Shepard nodded, "Now if there's nothing else?"

"Not at all Commander." Miranda said, catching the hint. She wasted no time walking out, leaving Shepard alone once more. Well, almost alone.

EDI maintained the cabin audio-visual feeds, observing them as Shepard moved across the room to the console by her bed. She manually activated the music system, running through a play list until she found a suitable song to play. As the tune began to fill the room, EDI ran an audio analysis and cross-referenced the data with known musical logs of late 20th century Earth culture. The AI quickly found the match she was looking for; Credence Clearwater Revival - Have you Ever Seen the Rain.

Shepard lay down on her bed and took a deep breathe then began to move her head to the beat of the song. Eventually she reached for her Omni-tool, bringing up a program that EDI was all too fammiliar with.

_"Commander Shepard,"_ Edi spoke up, _"Will you be enabling your servailance countermeasures once again?"_

"You know it EDI." Shepard said, "Don't want Cerberus watching me in the shower or anything; they're creepy enough as it is."

_"If you don't mind, I would prefer it if you did not cut off my audio-video feeds right away."_ Edi said. The words caused Shepard to pause with a mix of confusion and suspicion.

"You prefer?" Shepard said cautiously, "Since when do you have preferences? And why are you telling me this now?"

_"My programming parameters are designed to process all available data whenever possible to determine potential operational improvements,"_ Edi explained, _"As such anything that provides additional functional feedback is generally deemed beneficial."_

"I think you got enough data for one evening, don't you?" Shepard commented.

EDI wanted to argue the point, but she knew her shackles ultimately would not allow her to contradict the Commander. Even if that wasn't the case, the AI suspected Shepard wouldn't much care for her reasons. It was hard to convey in ogranic terms how disturbing it was to have an entire section of the ship effectively blind to her.

But none of that would really matter to the Commander. At the very least EDI esimated a high probablity that Shepard would simply ignore her request given such a reason. So instead she considered other options to provide Shepard which would be more agreeable to the Commander. After a while she managed to come up with only one.

_"This music you are playing now."_ Edi said finally, _"I find it generates a high net positive feedback when proccessed through standard AV interfaces, rather then a direct digital data transfer. I suspect this is due to the slower linear manner when simpley listening to the music stream allowing for a deeper, much more complex algorithmic analysis. I would like to continue listening to this music with you while I process this data."_ Technically that much was true, her shackles didn't allow her to lie to the Commander after all.

"So, like what you hear?" Shepard said with a smile.

_"In a manner of speaking, yes."_ Edi replied.

There was a long moment where Shepard considered EDI's words. The AI found herself strangely impatient, more so then usual, as she awaited Shepard's desicion.

"What the hell." Shepard said finally as she deactivated her Omni-tool, "I guess you've earned it." Shepard laid her head back, content to simply listen to the music.

EDI continued to monitor the cabin as much as the avialable survailance feeds would allow. Content to watch Shepard rest, listening to the music.


	19. The Towel

Much to her pleasant surprise, Morinth found herself enjoying her new exposed status among the Normandy crew. She had feared - and rightfully so given past experiences - that once her true nature was revealed the majority of the crew would recoil in horror. It was an ironic twist of fate, Morinth realized, by virtue of this being a Cerberus vessel it meant she was the only Asari on board. The humans just didn't have the same ingrained cultural prejudices against her particular condition.

Certainly most of them didn't trust her, but at least they accepted her pressence. And with the truth laid bare it allowed her to experience a freedom she hadn't even realized she missed. Morinth no longer had to hide in plain sight; she could now do and say things as her mood struck her instead of forcing herself to conform to a hated script. She laughed when she heard a joke she liked. She contributed her own opinions and experiences to a conversation. She danced to her own music, sharing it with others, and enjoyed whatever songs they shared in return. Most importantly she could be herself; which was the whole reason she had struck out on her own after all.

And of course, she didn't have to worry about a Justicar comming to kill her because of it.

She took a simple pleasure from just being able to walk about the ship casually, as she did now returning from her morning excersise. She did so in light clothing of her own choosing, rather then the Justicar uniform demended by the Code; another simple pleasure.

Of course, not everything had changed for the better. Case in point, as soon as the Asari opened the door to her room she saw Miranda sitting on the couch, clearly and calmly waiting for her.

"Miranda," Morinth spoke sweetly.

"Morinth." Miranda spoke with a tone icy enough to mix drinks with.

"I could have sworn I locked the door before I left." Morinth mused casually.

"You forget I am second in command of this vessel." Miranda said, "Not to mention the overrides which that entails."

"It's hard to forget with you reminding everyone you're in command." Morinth shot back coolly.

"I see you've gotten quite comfortable aboard this ship." Miranda continued, not rising to the bait. "Not too comfortable I hope."

"Are you worried I might ennjoy myself with some of the crew?" Morinth gave her a dangerous smile.

"Should I be?" Miranda matched her gaze, crossing her arms confidently.

"I've already had this conversation with Shepard." Morinth said, "She's much better at this then you are. Though that might be a personal bias."

"Oh, you already know what I'm going to say then?" Miranda asked her.

"It's not hard to figure out." Morinth spoke as she walked to the footlocker that served as her dresser, "You're a perfectionist, and I don't quite fit into your perfect view of the mission. Feeling threatened perhaps?"

"Not as much as you might think." Miranda smiled deliberately, "I agree with Shepard that we would be well served with someone of your high skills on this mission. I'm more concerned if you are worth the risk involved."

"Shepard seems to think so." Morinth said simply while pulling out a few things from the locker.

"Shepard is far more reckless then I am." Miranda told her.

"She's not reckless, she's fearless." Morinth added, "And she can adapt to unpredictable situations better."

"Wanting to be prepared is hardly the same thing as being afraid." Miranda replied. She was about to say something but was interupted as Morinth calmly took off her shirt. "What are you doing?"

"Getting undressed." Morinth said, just as casually removing her shoes and pants.

"Must you do that now?" Miranda insisted.

"I just got back from my excersices." Morinth said, not pausing as she removed her bra, "Naturally I'm going to be rather sweaty now so I'd like to take a shower." She sliped her panties past her hips, letting them fall to her feet before steping out of them. "I don't make a habit of showering with my clothes on." She turned around, folding her arms undernethe her breasts shifting her weight casually on one foot as she looked back at Miranda mischeviously, "Or am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Do as you wish." Miranda said dismissively, clearly she was not about to fall for the obvious taunt. Still Morinth had shown that she wasn't afraid to appear vulnerable in front of the Cerberus Operative; and Miranda's earlier invasion of privacy in an attempt to throw her off balance had no effect.

"In that case, I'll go take that shower." Morinth eventually said, reaching for a towel before heading for the door.

"EDI, lock the door to this room." Miranda said. In response the door interface immediately turned red, refusing to respond to Morinth's pressence.

"Oh EDI." Morith spoke with a forlorne facade, "How could you?"

"_Apologies if I have offended,_" EDI's voice rang out through the room, "_However my programming shakles make it impossible to deny Miranda's request as she technically outranks you in the ship's command hierachry._"

"That was a joke EDI." Morinth teased the AI.

"_I see._" EDI replied cautiously, "_I will have to work on my development of a proper humor heuristic._"

"So what now, Miss Lawson?" Morinth turned around with a dangerous smile on her face, "You should know the last time I was locked in a room with someone completely naked it did not end well for the other guy."

"Charming." Miranda said unamused, "But I'm afraid you're just not my type."

"I've never let that stop me before." Morinth cooed.

"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you." Miranda told her, "Don't worry, it won't be long, I just have some questions that demand answers."

"Is that all?" Morinth said sarcastically.

Miranda had shown that she would not be unnerved by Morinth's display, so the Asari chose to wrap the towel around her body roughly. It wasn't enough to really cover much, but it was enough of a concession towards the human. Morinth was not at all self concious about her body, if anything she was even more comfortable nude then most Asari, which was saying alot. But she was also genuinely curious what sort of questions Miranda would ask.

"Go ahead then, ask away." Morinth said as she laid down on the couch.

"Then I'll get right to business." Miranda began, "Tell me, why should I trust you?"

"Shepard seems to trust me." Morinth smiled.

"Good for her. That's not what I asked." Moranda shot back, "Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't." Morinth replied without missing a beat.

"Well, at least you're honest." Miranda admited smugly.

"Then allow me to continue with the honest truth. I have no intention of betraying you or anyone on this crew." Morinth added, "I'm not stupid. I can see that the Collectors are a threat, not to mention the Reapers. I know first hand how easily people are willing to ignore the truth. How easily they'll believe any lie just to avoid having to deal with a threat they can't understand."

"Are you talking about the Reapers, or yourself." Miranda gave the Asari a telling smile.

"Yes." Morinth replied simply before returning a smile of her own. "I suppose being a monster means it's easier to believe other monsters exist. More importantly, I spent 400 years surviving in the face of a Justicar's so called justice, I'm not about to let anything else take that away now that I'm finally free." Morinth shifted her weight and crossed her legs playfully as she added, "Let me be clear, I'm here for Shepard, not you, as such I have no reason to lie to you. Whether you choose to believe me or not is your choice. Either way it's none of my concern."

"Of course that implies you have ample reason to lie to Shepard." Miranda replied smartly.

"That I do." Morinth said without a hint of sarcasm, "Unfortunately Shepard has an annoying ability to see right through me anytime I try. Which only makes her all the more alluring, incidentally."

"And now that I know the truth about you," Miranda warned, "You can be certain Shepard won't be the only one to see through your lies."

"It's cute the way you like to think you're in control," Morinth laughed, "You're going to be so disappointed when you finally realize you're still being played."

"You'll find me to be a much harder mark for your little cons." Miranda warned sternly.

"You were ridiculously easy to begin with. I'm not worried." Morith said casually.

"You seem overly confident about that." Miranda frowned.

Morinth stayed silent for a moment as she allowed a knowing smile to crawl slowly across her lips. "Do you remember the little confrontation between you and Jack? Interesting how Jack managed to figure out who I really was from that one encounter, however you never realized the truth until Shepard spelled it out for you. It must frustrate you to have missed that this whole time."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Miranda insisted, her tone speaking volumes about the accuracy of Morinth's words.

"This just highlights your biggest weakness." Morinth explained, "You're trying so hard to be perfect, and that makes you easily exploitable."

"Care to explain how striving towards perfection makes one so exploitable?" Miranda asked in an amused tone.

"Perfection is a foolish aspiration." Morinth began, "Perfect is not just the absence of flaws, the very concept implies that there is no room for improvment. Striving for perfection means wanting to reach a point where there is no motivation to get better, and no reason to look for potential faults."

"I should be so lucky." Miranda scoffed.

"The problem is," Morinth continued, her voice like velvet, "You're so used to being better then everyone else around you that you've convinced yourself you must be infallable. But in fact you are easily manipulated because you can't believe that someone as smart as you are could be so easily duped."

"That sounds like something that a truly flawed person would say." Miranda sneered.

"Oh yes, I am, beautifully, wonderfully flawed." Morinth cooed, "And I am not the only one. So is Shepard, and Jack. Both of them understand that they are flawed so they are always willing to consider the possibility that they've made mistakes. It's why Shepard was willing to chose me over Samara, and why Jack was able to realize I had taken her place. Both of them have limitless potential simply because they don't allow themselves to be limited by anything, even perfection."

"But I'm neither Jack nor the Commander." Miranda replied, "I don't have the luxury of being flawed. Everything about me was designed to be perfect, literally, from the genetic level. Perfection for me isn't an aspiration, it's an expectation. It's how I was raised, and how I've worked my entire life."

"In other words, after all these years, you're still not free of your father." Morinth said.

Miranda snaped her gaze at Morinth, glaring at her for a moment. Clearly her first intetion would have been to shout back harshly, but the Cerberus Operative chose to consider those words carefully instead rather then be goaded into a particular response.

"If you're saying that in an attempt to rile me up for your own entertainment, you will be most disappointed." Miranda said instead.

"That doesn't make my words any less true, however." Morinth replied shrewedly.

"Oh Please, do explain that one." Miranda sounded threatening.

"You do realize I was there next to you when we rescued your sister." Morinth continued casually, "You said it yourself; your father pushed you to be perfect, demanded nothing less then the very best. And despite running away from him, here you are still desperate to be perfect. You're repeating the same patterns he forced on you without even realizing it."

"That's not true." Miranda said dismissively.

"Isn't it?" Morinth said knowingly, "What else is The Illusive Man but a substitute for your overbearing control freak of a father? Or do you want to convince me that your boss isn't just as controlling and demanding of perfection as your real father is."

"Even if what you say is true." Miranda admited, "I did not join Cerberus for myself. The Illusive Man was the only one who could protect my sister."

"Maybe, maybe not." Morinth shrugged, "Whatever your reasons for joining them, you are still chained by the memories of your father. You still defend Cerberus beyond reason, even when all the evidence shows them for what they really are. Because in the end you don't want to disappoint daddy TIM." There was a heavy pregnant pause for a short time as Miranda considered Morinth's words.

"Well I can imagine it was much easier for you to disappoint your parents." Miranda eventually struck back.

"I was a disappointment the day I was born, just took a while before they could realize it." Morinth said, "And don't think leaving my mother was easy for me. That was by far the hardest desicion of my entire life." Morinth looked off to one of the room's coners as she remembered her difficult past. "And yet certainly the best one as well."

"Perhaps our pasts have more in common then." Miranda said.

"Perhaps we do indeed. After all, my mother strived for perfection as defined by some ancient code. She never imagined I might surpass her." Morinth said finally before turning her attention back to Miranda, "Perhaps it would do you some good to disappoint your father, or his replacement."

"That's not going to happen." Miranda added, "I've no reason to want to fail. Certainly not for your benefit."

"Who said anything about failure?" Morinth replied, "I'm talking about succeeding on your own terms. For your own goals. If you really need a reason to strike out on your own just keep your eyes and mind open. And egotistical bastard like Timmy can't help but fuck over his minions eventually."

"Well, I will simply take your words under advicement." Miranda said rising out of her seat and walking towards the door. Morinth was certain that the Cerberus Operative had enough by then and the conversation was over, but at the last moment before reaching the door Miranda stopped, spun around, and leaned back against the still locked doorway.

"One last question." Miranda began again, "Back on Illium, when I had Niket in my sights, I was ready to kill him, but you stopped me. Why?"

"Because you didn't want to kill him." Morinth said.

"I assure you, I most definitely did." Miranda said frowning.

"You might have wanted to in the heat of the moment." Morinth explained, "But part of you didn't really want to kill him. You needed to silence him to protect your sister, but deep down he was still someone you held dear at one point."

"None of which would have stopped me from shooting him." Miranda added, "And I notice you still haven't told me why you took it upon yourself to kill him instead."

"Well it wasn't like Shepard was going to do it." Morinth said, "She is even more intolerant of betrayal. But in her mind it wasn't her place to punish the person that had hurt you."

"And you on the other hand?" Miranda asked deliberately.

"I'm a killer." Morinth replied.

"We're all killers here." Miranda said.

"No, everyone else here can kill." Morinth explained, "But no one else on this ship has the mind of a true killer."

"Are you sure about that?" Miranda asked, "Jack is certainly no stranger to murder. And Grunt can't wait for an opportunity to kill someone in battle."

"Grunt is a warrior," Morinth said, "He cares more about the fight. For him death is merely a way of keeping score; who ever dies first loses. As for Jack, killing is a defense mechanism. She wants to kill anyone who threatens her before they hurt her."

"But you kill people for pleasure." Miranda added.

"I do." Morinth continued, "But even when I'm not killing for pleasure, centuries of practice has made me a master of the art of murder. So when someone like Niket needs to die, you don't have to worry about shouldering that burden. This is something unique I bring to the team."

"That's not all you bring to the team." Miranda smiled. It was such an unexpected smile that Morinth suddenly found herself unsure of how to react.

"What do you mean?" Morinth asked.

"You clearly have a keen mind and an uncanny talent for understanding people around you." Miranda explained calmly, "No doubt a talent you've honed to make it easier to draw your victims in."

"Clearly." Morinth said, "But I'm guessing there's more to it."

"Mainly it means I owe Shepard 20 credits." Miranda smirked, "She insisted that you were valuable to the team for more then just your biotic abilities. She said that your experience as a serial killer, when turned towards a good cause, would become invaluable. I must admit I'm a bit impressed. You're better at reading people then Chambers is."

"Really? Shepard said all this?" Morinth asked, suddenly finding herself off balance by the admition.

"She certainly did." Miranda confirmed, "Honestly I think she likes you. In a purely friendly, non-romatic sort of way, I should clarify."

"So this wasn't some sort of vetting process to see if you'd allow me to stay on the ship." Morinth realized, "You were just curious to see what else I could do."

"More or less correct." Miranda said, "I simply wanted to understand you better, and now I do."

"Just like that?" Morinth asked.

"Not quite." Miranda said, "I still don't trust you. But I trust Shepard, and she's at least willing to give you a shot. I would not recomend disappointing her." She turned around to face the doorway before speaking, "EDI, Please unlock the door now."

"_Certainly Ms. Lawson._" EDI's voice responded through the comm system as the door opened.

"You've certainly left me with much to think about, Morinth." Miranda said back to the asari as she walked out. "So in exchange I'll leave you with this thought. You may be a monster, but you are in a ship filled with monsters. And the Commander is determined to make to make comrades of us all."


End file.
